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THE GRAND CANYON OF 
ARIZONA 




Co/^yriglil hy Fred Ilnricy. 

I'll iK'n:F.\ iiuxnRi:n fkkt ai'.ovk tiiI': Colorado ki\i:k: 

\lliW FKO.M I'LAIKAU Al.OXC I'.KlCIir ANGFL TRAIL. 
Page 6s 



The Grand Canyon 
of Arizona 

How to See It 



By George Wharton James 

Author of '• In and Out of the Old Missions," " The Wonders of the 
Colorado Desert," " Through Ramona's Country," etc. 



With numerous illustrations of 
points of interest and maps 



BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1910 






Copyright, igio. 
By Edith E. Farnsworth. 



All rights reserved 



Ele c tr otyp«d and Printed by 
THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. Simonds &' Co., Boston, U. S. A . 



©Cl.A271<>*-»'^ 



FOREWORD 

Upwards of ten years ago I sat on the south rim of the 
Grand Canyon and wrote " In and Around the Grand 
Canyon." In that book I included much that more than 
a decade of wandering up and down the trails of this great 
abyss had taught me. At that time the only accommodations 
for sightseers were stage lines or private conveyance from 
Flagstaff and Ash Fork, and, on arrival at the Canyon, 
the crude hotel-camps at Hance's, Grand View, Bright 
Angel, and Bass's. The railway north from Williams 
was being built. Everything was crude and primitive. 

Now the railway is completed and has become an in- 
tegral part of the great Santa Fe System, with at least 
two trains a day each way carrying Pullman sleepers, 
chair cars and coaches. At Bright Angel, where the rail- 
way deposits its passengers at the rim of the Canyon, stands 
El Tovar Hotel, erected by the railway company at a 
cost of over a quarter of a million dollars, which is equipped 
and conducted by Fred Harvey. Yet El Tovar is more 
like a country club than a hotel, in many respects, and, 
to that extent, is better. 

New roads and trails have been opened up, and further 
provision made for the entertainment of travelers visiting 
the Canyon. Hence, for several years, there has been a 
growing demand for a revision of " In and Around the 
Grand Canyon " that should bring it up to date and in- 
clude all this additional matter. Instead of a revision, 
I decided to write practically a new book, presenting in 
another form all the needful information contained in the 
earlier work, as well as giving in extended detail all the 



VI 



FOREWORD 



new description demanded. It also has been decided to 
make the book Hghter in weight and handier in form, so 
that it can be sHpped into the pocket or hand-bag, and 
thus used on the spot by those who wish a ready reference 
handbook to the Canyon and its wonders. 

If this and my earher book add anything to the pleasure 
and profit of those who visit this " waterway of the gods," 
I shall be both gratified and satisfied. 




El Tovar, Grand Canyon, 
September, 1909. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Foreword v 

I. The Grand Canyon of Arizona ... i 

11. On the Grand Canyon Railway to El Tovar ii 

III. El Tovar and Its Equipments . . i6 

IV. The Grand Canyon at El Tovar ... 25 

V. Three Ways of Spending one Day at the 

Canyon 34 

VI. How TO Spend Two to Five Days at El Tovar 44 

VII. How Fully to See and Know the Grand 

Canyon Region 49 

VIII. From El Tovar down the Bright Angel 

Trail 59 

IX. To Grand View and down the Grand View 

Trail 65 

X. A New " Rim " Road and Trail into the 

Scenic Heart of the Canyon ... 73 

XI. From El Tovar to Bass Camp and down the 

Bass Trail 77 

XII. Across the Grand Canyon to Point Sub- 
lime 85 

XIII. How the Canyon Was Formed ... 96 

XIV. The Canyon — Above and Below . . . in 
XV. The Hopi House 118 

XVI. Visiting Indians at El Tovar . . . 127 

XVII. The Navaho and Hopi Blanket Weavers . 131 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER FAGK 

XVIII. Pueblo and Navaho Pottery and Silver- 
ware 140 

XIX. The Hopis and their Snake Dance . 145 

XX. An Historic Trail across the Grand Canyon 

Country 153 

XXI. The Navaho and His Desert Home . . 163 

XXII. From El Tovar to the Havasupai Indians 
and Their Wonderful Cataract Canyon 
Homes 171 

XXIII. The First Discoverers and Inhabitants 

OF THE Grand Canyon .... 177 

XXIV. El Tovar and Cardenas and the Modern 

Discovery of the Grand Canyon . .190 

XXV. Fray Marcos AND Garces, AND THEIR Connec- 
tion with the Grand Canyon . . 202 

XXVI. Powell's and other Explorations of the 

Grand Canyon 214 

XXVII. Indian Legends about the Grand Canyon 225 

XXVIII. The Colorado River from the Mountains 

to the Sea 232 

XXIX. Climate and Weather at the Grand Canyon 240 

XXX. The Grand Canyon for Pleasure, Rest 

and Recuperation 247 

XXXI. The Story of a Boat 250 ^ 

XXXII. The Grand Canyon a Forest Reserve, Game 

Preserve and National Monument 258 

Index of the Points of Interest in and 

NEAR the Grand Canyon of Arizona . 261 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Point 



Bright Angel 



FACING PAGE 
I 



Thirteen hundred feet above the Colorado River. View 

from Plateau along Bright Angel Trail . . Frontispiece 

The Grand Canyon from El Tovar 

Looking down Grand Canyon from El Tovar 

Looking West from Hopi (Rowe) Point 

El Tovar, Grand Canyon, Arizona 

The Rendezvous, El Tovar 

The Dining Room, El Tovar . 

Trail Party starting from Bright Angel Cam 

Main Entrance, El Tovar 

Plateau and Bright Angel Creek from El Tovar 

Coaching Party leaving El Tovar . 

El Tovar Stables 

Bright Angel Creek from Yavapai (O'Neill) 

Sunset on Rim of Grand Canyon . 

Bright Angel Creek and North Rim from 

Trail 

Crossing the Colorado River to the Shinumo 
Trail Party in front of El Tovar 
Camp on Boucher Creek, Grand Canyon, Arizona 
Bath Falls, Hermit Creek Canyon . 

A Rest on the Trail 

Jacob's Ladder on Bright Angel Trail . 

Indian Garden and Half-Way House, Bright Angel 

Looking East from Hopi (Rowe) Point 

The Devil's Corkscrew, Bright Angel Trail 

Looking North from Grand View . 

Grand View Hotel and Annex 

On Grand View Trail .... 



Tra 



7 
i6 

17 
24 
25 
25 
32 
33 
33 
38 
39 



42 
43 
43 
50 
51 
51 
60 
60 
61 
61 
66 

67 
72 



X ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING FACE 

In the Granite at foot of Grand View Trail .... 72 

Bridal Veil Falls, Havasu Canyon 73 

Thor Hammer 73 

Work of Erosion on the Rim 73 

Castle de Lux 80 

Navaho Falls, Havasu Canyon 80 

Colorado River in Inner Gorge, foot of Bass Trail . . 81 

Shinumo Altar, Marble Canyon 92 

Lyell Monument 92 

Rocky Pillar, Mouth of SKinumo 92 

San Francisco Mountains, Arizona 93 

Captain Hance and Party on the Zig Zags, Bright Angel 

Trail no 

Vishnu Temple, a detail of Grand Canyon Erosion, taken 

from Monograph of United States Geological Survey . in 

Hopi House, Grand Canyon, Arizona 120 

Hopi Indians on roof of Hopi House 120 

Zig Zags at head of Bright Angel Trail . . . .121 

Hanging Rock, Grand View Trail 128 

The Grand Canyon from in front of Grand View Hotel . 129 

Hopi House, First Floor Interior 138 

Hopi Indian Blanket Weaver, Hopi House .... 138 
Zoroaster Temple from Colorado River at foot of Bright 

Angel Trail 139 

The Walls of the Grand Canyon from Zuni Point .152 

President Taft and Party at the Grand Canyon 153 

Western Wall of Hopi (Rowe) Point 153 

Hopi Point from Bright Angel Trail 1 58 

At the Mouth of the Little Colorado River . . 159 

Lava Falls, foot of Toroweap 1 59 

Night Scene, Navaho Hogans near El Tovar . . . 166 

In the " Boxing " of the Little Colorado River . . 166 
John Hance, Thomas Moran, George Innes, Jr., and G. H. 

McCord 167 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI 



At the head of Topocobya Trail into Havasu Canyon 

In Havasu Canyon 

Colorado River at foot of Old Hance Trail 

Dutton Point and Masonic Temple from Grand S 

Divide 

North from Grand Vievv^ Point 

Terrace Falls, Hermit Creek Canyon 

Dripping Spring, Boucher Trail 

The Marble Canyon, Colorado River 

Camp in Coconino Forest, near Point Sublime 

Trail Party starting from Shinumo Camp . 

Fray Marcos Hotel, Williams, Arizona . 

Distant View of San Francisco Mountains . 

Pinnacles at head of Shinumo, North Rim of Canyon 

The Grand Canyon West from Gertrude Point 

Looking across the Colorado River between Upper 

Lower Lee's Ferry to entrance of Paria Creek 
A Quiet Reach between two Rapids, Colorado River 
Mouth of Diamond Creek, Grand Canyon . 
Major Powell's Boat in Glen Canyon . 
Fossil Mountain, Grand Canyon .... 

The Pass on Boucher Trail 

Granite Gorge from Plateau Section of Bright Angel 

Colorado River and the Needles, California 

Colorado River foot of Bass Trail . 

Dripping Spring, general view 

A Bend in Glen Canyon, Colorado River 

Looking down Trail Canyon . 

Walls of Limestone in Marble Canyon 

Charles S. Russell shooting Hermit Creek Rapids in 

Rowboat, January, 1908 

Crossing Lee's Ferry, Colorado River 
Havasu Canyon and Mooney Fall . 



FACING PAGE 



and 



Trail 



Steel 



184 
184 
185 
185 
192 
193 
193 
204 
205 
220 
221 

224 
224 
225 
225 
225 
232 

238 
238 

239 
246 
247 

247 

252 
252 
253 



DIAGRAMS AND MAP 

Figure i. Section showing the tilting of the Al- 
gonkian Strata above the Archean, and the 
fragments of the Strata that remain . Facing Page 98 

Figure 2. Section showing original ideal de- 
position of Algonkian Strata before tilting took 
place as shown in figure one . . . . " "98 

Figure 3. Showing deposition of the Carbon- 
iferous and later Strata at the Canyon and the 
region beyond. On the right is suggested, above 
the Carboniferous, the Strata that are found 
north of the Canyon, as described on page 103 99 

Figure 4. Imaginary restoration of the Carbon- 
iferous and later Strata over the Canyon, the 
dotted lines suggesting the present appearance 
of the Canyon and denoting how much of 
the Strata has been washed away ... 99 

Figure 5. Series of sections showing the ulti- 
mate denudation of a region by the continuous 
widening of River Valleys .... Page no 

Detail Map of Granite Gorge Section, Grand 

Canyon of Arizona ^"^ °f ^°°^ 




THE GRAND CANYON FROM EL TOVAR. 
Page 15 




THE GRAND CANYON 
OF ARIZONA 

CHAPTER I 

THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Only One Grand Canyon. The ancient world had its 
seven wonders, but they were all the work of man. The 
modern world of the United States has easily its seven 
wonders — Niagara, the Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Natu- 
ral Bridge, the Mammoth Cave, the Petrified Forest and 
the Grand Canyon of Arizona — but they are all the work 
of God. It is hard, in studying the seven wonders of the 
ancients, to decide which is the most wonderful, but — 
now that the Canyon is known — all men unite in affirm- 
ing that the greatest of all wonders, ancient or modern, is 
the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Some men say there are 
several Grand Canyons, but to the one who knows there 
is but one Grand Canyon. The use of the word to name 
any lesser gorge is a sacrilege as well as a misnomer. 

Not in the spirit of carping criticism or of reckless boast- 
ing are these words uttered. It is the dictum of sober 
truth. It is wrong to even unintentionally mislead a whole 
people by the misuse of names. Until made fully aware 
of the facts, the traveling world are liable to error. They 
want to see the Grand Canyon. They are shown these 
inferior gorges, each called the Grand Canyon, and, be- 
cause they do not know, they accept the half-truth. The 



2 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

other canyons they see are great enough in themselves to 
claim their closest study, and worthy to have distinctive 
names bestowed upon them. But, as Clarence Dutton, 
the eminent geologist, has well said in his important scien- 
tific monograph written for the United States Geological 
Survey: " The name Grand Canyon repeatedly has been 
infringed for purposes of advertisement. The Canyon 
of the Yellowstone has been called ' The Grand Canyon.' 
A more flagrant piracy is the naming of the gorge of the 
Arkansas River * The Grand Canyon of Colorado,' and 
many persons who have visited it have been persuaded 
that they have seen the great chasm. These river valleys 
are certainly very pleasing and picturesque, but there 
is no more comparison between them and the mighty chasm 
of the Colorado River than there is between the Alle- 
ghanies and the Himalayas. 

Sublimity of the Grand Canyon. " Those who have long 
and carefully studied the Grand Canyon of the Colorado 
do not hesitate for a moment to pronounce it by far the 
most sublime of all earthly spectacles. If its sublimity 
consisted only in its dimensions, it could be set forth in 
a single sentence. It is more than two hundred miles long, 
from five to twelve miles wide, and from five thousand 
to six thousand feet deep. There are in the world valleys 
which are longer and a few which are deeper. There are 
valleys flanked by summits loftier than the palisades of 
the Kaibab. Still the Grand Canyon is the sublimest 
thing on earth. It is so not alone by virtue of its magni- 
tudes, but by virtue of the whole — its tout ensemble." 

What, then, is this Grand Canyon, for which its friends 
dare to make so large and bold a claim ? 

It is a portion — a very small portion — of the waterway 
of the Colorado River, and it is so named to diff'erentiate 
it from the other canyons of the same river. The canyon 
system of the Colorado River is as vast in its extent as 
is the Grand Canyon in its quality of sublimity. For it 
consists of such a maze of canyons — the main canyons 



THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 3 

through which the river itself runs-, the canyons through 
which its tributaries run; the numberless canyons tributary 
to the tributary canyons; the canyons within canyons, — 
that, upon the word of no less an authority than Major 
Powell, I assert that if these canyons were placed end for 
end in a straight line they would reach over twenty thousand 
miles! Is it possible for the human mind to conceive a 
canyon system so vast that, if it were so placed, it would 
nearly belt the habitable globe ? 

Impression on Beholders. And the principal member 
of this great system has been named The Grand Canyon, 
as a conscious and meaningful tribute to its vastness, its 
sublimity, its grandeur and its awesomeness. It is unique; 
it stands alone. Though only two hundred and seventeen 
miles long, it expresses within that distance more than 
any one human mind yet has been able to comprehend or 
interpret to the world. Famous word-masters have at- 
tempted it, great canvas and color-masters have tried it, 
but all alike have failed. It is one of the few things that 
man is utterly unable to imagine until he comes in actual con- 
tact with it. A strange being, a strange flower, an unknown 
reptile, a unique machine, or a strange and unknown any- 
thing, almost, within the ken of man, can be explained 
to another so that he will reasonably comprehend it; but 
not so with the Grand Canyon. I had an illustration of 
this but a few days ago. A member of my own household, 
keenly intelligent and well-read, who had heard my own 
descriptions a thousand and one times, and had seen 
photographs and paintings, without number, of the Can- 
yon, came with me on her first visit to the camp where I 
am now writing. As the carriage approached the rim at 
Hotouta Amphitheatre and gave her the first glimpse of 
the Canyon, she drew back terrified, appalled, horror- 
stricken. Subsequent analysis of her emotions and the 
results of that first glimpse revealed a state of mind so over- 
powered with the sublimity, vastness, depth and power 
of the scene, that her impressions were totally inadequate, 



4 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

altogether lacking in detail and accuracy, and at complete 
variance with her habitual observations. 

Whence came so utter a confusion of the senses ? The 
Canyon is its own answer. It fills the soul of all responsive 
persons with awe. Explain it as one will, deny it if one will, 
sensitive souls are filled with awe at its superb majesty, its 
splendor, its incomprehensible sublimity. And in these 
factors we find the great source of its attractiveness, for, 
in spite of the awe and terror it inspires in the hearts of 
so many at first sight, it allures, attracts and holds those 
who have once gazed into its mysterious depths. Indeed, 
is it not to its very vastness, mystery, solitude and awe- 
inspiring qualities we owe its power over us ? The human 
mind is so constituted that such qualities generally appeal 
to it. Hence the never-ceasing call the Canyon will make 
to the soul of man, so long as a susceptible mortal remains 
on earth. 

Its Physical Features. Seen at any time it is bewildering 
and appalling to one's untrained senses; but especially in 
the very early morning, during the hours of dawn and the 
slow ascent of the sun, and equally in the very late after- 
noon and at sunset, are its most entrancing effects to be 
witnessed. At midday, with the sun glaring through into 
its depths, the reds and chocolates of the sandstones (which 
are the predominating colors) are so strong, and the re- 
lieving shadows so few, that it seems uninteresting. But 
let one watch it as I did last night, between the hours of 
seven and ten, and again this morning from five until eight 
of the clock. What revelations of forms, what richness 
of colors; what transformations of apparently featureless 
walls into angles and arches and recesses and facets and 
entablatures and friezes and facades! What lighting up 
of towers and temples and buttes and minarets and pin- 
nacles and ridges and peaks and pillars of erosion! What 
exposures of detached and isolated mountains of rock, 
of accompanying gorges and ravines, deep, forbidding, 
black and unknown, the depths of which the foot of man 



THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 5 

has never trod! Turner never depicted such dazzHng 
scenes, Rembrandt such violent and yet attractive con- 
trasts. Here everything is massive and dominating. The 
colors are vivid; the shadows are purple to blackness; 
the heights are tow^ering; the depths are appalling; the 
sheer walls are as if poised in mid-air; the towers and 
temples dwarf into insignificance even the monster works 
of man on the Nile, Here are single mountains of erosion 
standing as simple features of the vast sight spread out for 
miles before you, that are as high as the highest mountains 
of the Eastern States. A score of Mt. Washingtons find 
repose in the depths of this incomprehensible waterway, 
in the two hundred and seventeen miles of its length. 
In width it varies from ten to twenty miles, and at the 
point where I now sit writing, where the Canyon makes 
a double bow-knot in a marvellous bend, the north wall 
(which, in the sharp bend of the river, becomes the south 
wall of the reverse of the curve) is completely broken 
down, so that one has a clear and direct view across two 
widths of canyon and river to a distance of from thirty- 
five to forty miles. Who can really " take in " such a 
view ? I have gazed upon the Canyon at this spot almost 
yearly, and often daily for weeks at a time, for about 
twenty years, yet such is the marvellousness of distance, 
that never until two days ago did I discover that a giant 
detached mountain, fully eight thousand feet high, and with 
a base ten miles square, which I had photographed from 
another angle on the north side of the Canyon, stood in the 
direct line of my sight and, as it were, immediately before 
me. The discovery was made by a peculiar falling of light 
and shadow. The heavens were filled with clouds which 
threw complete shadows on the far north wall. The sun 
happened to shine through the clouds and light up the 
whole contour of this Steamboat Mountain (so called 
because of its shape), so that it stood forth clearly outlined 
against the dark field behind. In surprise I called to 
my companion and showed her my discovery. Yet, such 



6 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

is the deceptiveness of distance that, to the unaided eye, 
and without being aware of the fact, even my observant 
faculties had never before perceived that this gigantic mass 
was not a portion of the great north wall, from which 
it is detached by a canyon fully eight miles wide. 

No one can know the Grand Canyon, in all its phases. 
It is one of those sights that words cannot exaggerate. 
What does it matter how deep you say — in hundreds or 
thousands of feet — the Canyon is, when you cannot see 
to the bottom of it ? Strict literalists may stick out for the 
exact figures in feet and inches from rim to river — else- 
where given as the scientists of the United States Geological 
Survey have recorded them — but to me they are almost 
valueless. Its depth is beyond human comprehension 
in figures, and so is its width. And the eye of the best 
trained man in the world cannot grasp all its features of 
wall and butte and canyon, of winding ridge and curving 
ravine, of fell precipice and rocky gorge, in a week, a 
month, a year, or a lifetime. Hence words can but sug- 
gest; nothing can describe the indescribable; nothing can 
picture what no man ever has seen in its completeness. 

What Men Have Said of the Canyon. Men have stood 
before it and called it " an inferno, swathed in soft celestial 
fires;" but what is an inferno.'' And who ever saw the 
fires of heaven ? Words! words! words! Charles Dudley 
Warner, versed in much and diverse world-scenery, moun- 
tain-sculpture, canyon-carvings, and plain-sweep, con- 
fessed: " I experienced for a moment an indescribable 
terror of nature, a confusion of mind, a fear to be alone 
in such a presence. With all its grotesqueness and 
majesty of form and radiance of color, creation seemed 
in a whirl." When the reader thinks of grotesqueness, 
what images come to his mind ? A Chinese joss, perhaps; 
a funny human face on the profile of a rock, but nothing so 
vast, so awful, so large as this. The word " majesty " 
suggests a kingly presence, a large man of dignified mien, 
or a sequoia standing supreme over all other trees in the 




Putiiain & I'alcntinc, Photos. 

LUUKl.XG WKST IKOM IIOTI (K(,)\\i:) TOIXT 
Page ?9 



THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 7 

forest. But a thousand men of majesty could be placed un- 
seen in one tiny rift in this gorge, and all the sequoias of the 
world could be planted in one stretch of this Canyon, and 
never be noticed by the most careful watcher on the rim. 

Another, reaching the Canyon at night, declared that 
she and her companions seemed to be " standing in mid- 
air, while below, the dark depths were lost in blackness 
and mystery." Again mere words! words! for whoever 
stood in mid-air ? 

Still another calls it " the most ineffable thing that ex- 
ists within the range of man," and later explains when 
he stands on the brink of " — it. And where the Grand 
Canyon begins, words stop." Yet he goes on and uses 
about four more pages of words, and pictures after words 
have stopped, to tell what he felt and saw. And the re- 
markable thing is that his experience is that of all the wisest 
men who have ever seen it. They know they cannot 
describe it, but they proceed to exhaust their vocabularies 
in talking about it, and in trying to make clear to others 
what they saw and felt. And in this very fact what a 
wonderful tribute lies to the power of the Canyon; that 
a wise and prudent man is led to strive to do what he 
vows he will not do, and knows he cannot do. 

One well-known poet exclaims: " It was like sudden 
death; " yet she is still alive. Again, after breakfast, she 
wrote: " My courage rose to meet the greatness of the 
world." Then she " crawled half prostrate " to the barest 
and highest rocks she could find on the rim, and confessed: 
" It made a coward of me; I shrank and shut my eyes, 
and felt crushed and beaten under the intolerable burden 
of the flesh. For humanity intrudes here; in these warm 
and glowing purple spaces disembodied spirits must range 
and soar, souls purged and purified and infinitely daring." 
Yet here I have heard the wild brayings of hungry mules 
and the worse ravings of angry men — non€ of them im- 
pressed as was the soul of the poet. 

One money-making business man declared that he went 



8 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

to the rim at night-time, and when he and his friends reached 
the spot they put forth their hands and found — " an 
absolute end. We clutched vainly at black space. To 
fathom this space we thrust over a big stone. No sound 
came back. The pit was bottomless — the grave of the 
world. The mystery fascinated, the void beckoned. We 
scarcely knew why we did not obey the summons — why 
we did not abandon the present, and, by following the 
big stone, escape to the future." And yet he had no urgent 
creditors bothering him. His financial position was secure 
and unquestioned. His family relations were all that 
could be desired. Wonderful, indeed, that a mere feature 
of natural scenery could have led him to wonder why 
he didn't leave all the luxuries and certainties of life, and 
leap into the unknown future! Yet that is just the way 
the Canyon affected a sober business man of steady judg- 
ment. 

A well-known writer declares: " It is a paradox of chaos 
and repose, of gloom and radiance, of immeasurable deso- 
lation and enthralling beauty. It is a despair and a joy; 
a woe and an ecstasy; a requiem and a hallelujah; a world- 
ruin and a world-glory — everything in antithesis of such 
titanic sort." I agree with him, and regard his expressions 
as indicative of my own sensations. 

Yet, when a reverend gentleman calls it a " delirium of 
nature," I cannot agree with him. The delirium might 
be in his own mind, but there is no delirium here. Neither 
does it seem to me that a certain university president ex- 
presses things with any more wisdom or effectiveness, 
when he says that it " impressed him with its infinite lazi- 
ness." Lazy ? When once, in the far-distant past, after 
rising from the primeval sea, it sank back again and 
deposited twelve thousand feet of strata, then lifted 
them out into the sunshine, carved eleven thousand 
feet of them away, and sent them dashing down the 
river to fill up the Gulf of California and make 
the Mohave and Colorado Deserts ? Lazy .? When, 



THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 9 

after that was done, it sank again, and allowed a thousand 
feet of Cambrian to be deposited; then two thousand feet 
of Carboniferous; then Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and 
Cretaceous, until the three thousand feet were increased 
to two miles of deposits. Then it began to lift itself up 
again. Lazy ? When lifting up two miles' thickness of 
strata for the clouds and their children to carve away ? 
And it lifted and lifted, until it destroyed a vast Eocene 
lake, which covered as large an area as perhaps half a 
dozen Eastern States, and at the same time carried away 
about twelve thousand feet of strata. Lazy ? When you 
consider that from north to south, for a hundred or more 
miles, the whole region has been heaving and tossing, 
curving and buckling, arching and crumpling its strata, 
faulting by rising, faulting by sinking, until the geologist 
who would study the faults finds, in the area of one half- 
mile, near the mouth of Shinumo Creek, his work for a 
lifetime cut out for him. 

No! No! Mr. College President! You must look more 
fully. You must guess again! The Canyon is not lazy. 
It is merely a gigantic natural representation of yourself. 
You are the embodiment of energy of body, mind and soul; 
yet you are never seen hurried or disturbed. You have the 
serenity of genius. So with the Canyon. It has done and is 
doing great things. It has been a persistent worker during 
the millions of years of its existence, but it has the calm 
serenity of consciousness of strength. What you took to 
be laziness is the restfulness of divine power. 

When First Seen. These are some of the effects the 
Canyon has upon men. I once walked up to the rim with 
a lawyer, who to-day is one of the foremost figures of the 
San Francisco bar, a man of lion-like courage and almost 
reckless bravery. At the first glimpse he fell on his knees, 
clasped me around mine, and begged me to take him 
away, declaring that a gift of all Arizona would not lead 
him to take another glimpse into its awesome depths. 

I know of one lady who, for weeks afterwards, would 



10 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

wake up almost every night, and feel herself falling into 
the fathomless gorge. 

Yet the next day the lawyer went with me down to the 
river, and to this day declares it was the " most memorable 
trip of his life; " while the timid lady, to my own knowl- 
edge, has made over five trips to the Canyon. 

Those of less susceptible nerves cannot conceive the 
effect the first sight of the Canyon produces upon such super- 
sensitive natures as these to which I have referred. I have 
seen strong men fall upon their knees. I have seen women, 
driven up to the rim unexpectedly, lean away from the 
Canyon, the whole countenance an index of the terror felt 
within, gasp for breath, and though almost paralyzed by 
their dread of the indescribable abyss, refuse either to close 
their eyes or turn them away from it. Some few remain 
away for a day or two until their nerves become more 
steady. Yet I have never known one of these susceptible 
observers, these keenly sensitive natures that, on due 
consideration, has not been thankful for the experience, 
and in every case has either returned to fully enjoy the 
Canyon, or has longed to do so. 

But, you ask, what is the Canyon for ? The answer is 
simple, and reveals a very humble task as the main work 
of this vast and gorgeously-colored abyss. It merely 
acts as the home of a great river, that for hundreds of 
miles does not serve a single useful purpose to man. 

Yet purely material uses are of the lowest kind The 
Grand Canyon has a far higher mission than that I have 
spoken of, and others that are suggested in various chap- 
ters of this book. The Grand Canyon is God's greatest 
gift of His material handiwork in visible form on our earth. 
It is an expression of His divine thought; it is a manifesta- 
tion of His divine love. It is a link, a wonderful connecting 
link, between the human and the Divine, between man and 
his Great Creator, his Loving Father, Almighty God. 



CHAPTER II 

ON THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY TO EL TOVAR 

History of the Grand Canyon Railway. The Grand 
Canyon Railway leaves the main line of the Santa Fe 
at Williams, Arizona. It is an integral part of the Atchi- 
son, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System, that operates 
its own lines between Chicago, Los Angeles and San Fran- 
cisco. 

Though surveys had been made years ago from Ash 
Fork, Williams and Flagstaff, it was left for the Tusayan 
Development Company of New York, who owned a group 
of copper mines located twenty miles south of the head of 
Bright Angel Trail, actually to build the railway part way 
to the Canyon. It was later extended to the rim by the 
Santa Fe, and afterwards practically rebuilt. The original 
purpose was to reach the mines referred to and convey the 
ore to Williams, where the smelter then erected is to be 
seen on the hillside east of the town. 

The promoter of the mines and railway was " Bucky " 
O'Neill, a prominent Arizona citizen, at one time mayor of 
Prescott, who became world-famous by his tragic death 
during the charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill. 

The First Four Miles. Striking due north, the railway 
passes over masses of malapais, or lava float, until, four 
miles out, it crosses Havasu (Cataract) Creek. If the 
rains are just over, the rough rocks will be entirely cov- 
ered and hidden by a gorgeous growth of sunflowers and 
lupines, the yellows and purples making a carpet that, in 
the brilliant sunlight, fairly dazzles the eye. Here and 
there a band of sheep may be seen, with straggling herds 



12 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

of cattle and horses. In the winter time it is not unusual 
to find snow covering the plateau, for it must not be for- 
gotten that it has an elevation of nearly seven thousand 
feet. During the early summer, before the rains, it is 
often barren and desolate. 

Yet at all seasons the slopes of Williams Mountain are 
charming and beautiful. The tender and vivid tones of the 
evergreen trees that cover it render it a restful and attract- 
ive feature of the landscape. 

Havasu Creek. Havasu Creek flows above ground 
for several miles, then disappears to make a subterranean 
stream, which finally emerges in wonderful volume, in a 
thousand springs, in the heart of Havasu Canyon, just 
above the village of the Indians of the same name. Cross- 
ing it, four miles from Williams, the railway enters ia belt 
of cedars and junipers, passes Red Lake, — a volcanic 
sink-hole, which, at rare intervals, is filled with water. 

Deer and Antelope. For a dozen miles the road passes 
through a series of charming parks, w^here deer and 
antelope are sometimes seen. While driving his train 
through one of these parks, early in December, 1907, 
S. O. Miller, one of the engineers of the Grand Canyon 
Railway, saw a majestic black-tailed deer running a 
little ahead of his engine. Suddenly the beautiful creature 
turned, tried to cross the track, and was instantly killed. 
Stopping the train. Miller got help, and it took four men 
to lift the dead animal and place it on the engine. The 
skin and head were mounted. The animal is so perfect 
and royal a specimen that the owner says a thousand 
dollars could not purchase it from him. 

Miller rather enjoys the distinction of being the only 
known deer hunter of the West who has chased his game 
and killed it with a locomotive. 

Surrounding Mountains. One should not fail to look 
back, as the train journeys along, for fine, full views of 
the Volcanic Mountains, — the San Franciscos, Kendricks, 
Sitgreaves and Williams. The two former are sharp, 



ON THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY 13 

pyramidal-shaped masses, towering from nine thousand 
to twelve thousand feet into the blue, while the two latter 
are well wooded and rounded, though volcanic, — Will- 
iams Mountain having seven distinct crests at different 
altitudes. 

When about ten miles out, Mount Floyd, another 
volcanic pile, rises above the plain on the west. Two sharp 
peaks come in sight, and later, long ridges of deep blue 
stretch away to the north. These are the Blue Ridge, and 
are formed of lava which has flowed from Mount Floyd. 

Ant-Hills. To many it is a novel sight to see the ant-hills 
that dot the plain all the way along. These tiny creatures 
build their homes underground, carrying out all the small 
pieces of rock that are in their way. By and by they build 
up quite a mound of these stones, and it is on these that 
the Navaho Indians often find the garnets, rubies and 
peridots they ofi^er for sale. Around the mounds the ground 
is stripped bare by the busy ants, who remove every particle 
of vegetation in a radius of two or three feet. 

Desert Rains. If it is early summer when you ride over 
this region, do not be deceived by the barrenness of the 
thirsty country (as you leave the cedars), and the dry, 
cloudless sky, and imagine that it never rains. I have 
been here in the midst of such rain storms as I have rarely 
experienced elsewhere. When the showers do fall, they 
often come with a fullness that is as distressing as is the 
want of water during the dry season. 

Red Butte. Twenty-nine miles out, near the station of 
Valle, is the big bridge, some fifty feet high and three 
hundred feet long, over a branch of the Spring Valley 
Wash; and here Red Butte becomes a prominent land- 
mark on the right. This is known to the Havasupai In- 
dians as Hue-ga-da-wi-za, the Mountain of the Clenched 
Fist, for this is its appearance when seen at certain angles. 
It is a remnant of the Permian sandstone that once covered 
the whole Grand Canyon region, and its brilliant red, when 
illuminated by the vivid Arizona sun, explains why for 



14 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

so many years it has been a prominent landmark of the 
plateau. It stands boldly forth on the eastern edge of 
what was undoubtedly once a portion of the vast Eocene 
lake, the drainage way of which helped to cut down the 
Canyon we are so soon to see. 

Interesting stories might be told of Red Butte and its 
region. The Havasupais have a tradition that many 
years ago a large spring of water flowed from near its 
base, but in the great convulsion of nature which changed 
the current of the waters of Havasu Creek the spring dis- 
appeared, and never has been seen since. The presence 
of a number of quaking aspens in the region, however, 
denotes that water is still there. It also has been claimed 
that documents on file in Tucson prove that silver mining 
was extensively carried on here as early as the year 1650. 

Prehistoric Lake. At the twenty-eighth mile post, we 
have left the cedars behind, and until we strike Anita 
Junction only a few scraggly, solitary trees are to be seen. 
We are on the edge of the great prehistoric lake. The 
country is seamed with small, rocky gorges, which we 
crosSo They are sometimes lined with scrub-brush, and 
made beautiful by many colored flowers. All these 
" draws " are tributary to Havasu (Cataract) Creek, but 
it is interesting to remember that most of them convey the 
drainage water away from the rim of the Grand Canyon 
until, by the subterranean channel before referred to, the 
stream is taken back to the Havasu Canyon and soon, deep, 
deep, deep down, some five thousand feet below the rim, 
is ejected into the muddy Colorado River. 

The First Sight of the Canyon. A glance out of the 
right window will now show one a portion of the north 
wall of the Canyon. It is a fairly level stretch of wall 
running east and west, though there is a break in it, and 
then an uprising curve, as if the crust here had received 
a lateral thrust strong enough to break and then " buckle " 
it up from east to west. 

Crossing the Red Horse Wash, known to the Havasupais 



ON 'THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY 15 

as Ha-i-ga-sa-jul-ga, the line reaches Anita Junction. 
Here a spur three miles long connects the main line with 
the copper mines of the Anita Consolidated Company, for 
which the railway originally was built. The grade of the 
spur was so engineered that the loaded cars of ore from 
the mine (when in operation) are brought down by gravity. 

Coconino Forest. A few miles further on, the railway 
enters a country of pine and juniper, a stately prelude 
to the majesties and grandeurs of the Kohonino (Coconino) 
Forest. Here it seems as if one were suddenly transported 
to England, and were passing through a succession of 
landed estates, without, however, finding the accompanying 
mansions. Aisles of stately trees, nature planted and 
grown, yet as perfectly in line as if set with mathe- 
matical precision, lead the eye into open glades where 
deer and antelope move to and fro, and where one looks 
instinctively for the bold facade of an historic building, or 
the battlemented towers of some romantic castle. 

Arrival at El Tovar. Now, bearing off in a westerly 
direction, the railway leaves the Kohonino Wash, and 
soon crosses a divide beyond which, to the left, may be 
seen the house at Bass. This is a flag-station for Bass 
Camp. A mile or so further, and a wash opens to the left. 
This leads to Rowe's Well (Ha-ha-wai-i-the-qual-ga), 
where the chief ranger of the Forest Reserve has his home. 
Another four miles of steady upgrade, and the whistle 
of the engine denotes that Grand Canyon is reached. 
Here, in addition to El Tovar, Bright Angel Camp, the 
power-house, and the buildings of the transportation 
department, are a post-office, photograph gallery and 
several buildings for employees of the railroad, rangers, 
etc., so that there is quite a little settlement. 

The main attractions, however, are the Canyon and 
El Tovar, the hotel itself being so unique and picturesque 
as to require a separate chapter for its description. 



CHAPTER III 

EL TOVAR AND ITS EQUIPMENTS 

Location of El Tovar. The West has several unique 
and picturesque hotels, but I question whether it possesses 
one more so than that bearing the name of the gallant 
Spanish cavalier, Coronado's lieutenant, the Ensign Tovar. 
Built upon the very edge of the Canyon, in latitude 

35° 55' 3°"' ^^ ^^ '■^^ ^^^ °^ ^ ^"-'^^ curve of an amphi- 
theatre, the walls of which are slightly higher than the 
elevation of the hotel. Its location affords the most inti- 
mate views of the great gorge, attracting spectators from 
all over the civilized world. Indeed, were it not for 
these visitors, El Tovar would never have been built 
Its existence came out of a crying necessity. It was built 
by the Santa Fe Railway, and furnished and equipped by 
Fred Harvey, whose hotel and dining service for over a 
quarter of a century has made the Santa Fe noted as giv- 
ing the best food service of any railway system in the 
world. 

The Building. And what of the building itself? Stand 
away a little distance — say half a mile or more, for it 
is large enough to be seen and well described that far 
away — and it presents the appearance of a three-stoned 
bungalow, though later you find that in some points it 
is four stories high. Its base is of solid, native limestone 
rock, well built up and continued In the massive outside 
chimneys, one of which stands at each end of the dmmg- 
room. The first story is of solid logs, brought from far- 
away Oregon, and the upper stories are of heavy planking 



EL TOVAR AND ITS EQUIPMENTS 17. 

and shingles, all stained to a rich brown or weather-beaten 
color, that harmonizes perfectly with the gray-green of its 
unique surroundings. It is pleasant to the eye, artistic in 
effect, and satisfactory to the most exacting critic. Its width, 
north and south, is three hundred and twenty-seven feet, 
and from east to west, two hundred and eighteen feet. The 
main building and entrance face the east. 

Architecture. Its lines are in harmony with the sim- 
plicity of the surroundings. The architect has followed, in 
admirable proportions, the Swiss chalet and the Norway 
villa. Here are expressed a quiet dignity, an unassuming 
luxury, and an appreciation of outing needs. Not a Wal- 
dorf-Astoria — admirable as that type is for the city — 
but a big, country clubhouse, where the traveler seeking 
high-class accommodations also finds freedom from ultra- 
fashionable restrictions. You may wear a dress suit at 
dinner or not. You may mix with the jolly crowd, or 
sit alone in a quiet nook. You may lunch at almost any 
hour of the day or night. You may dine with other guests, 
or enjoy the seclusion of a private dining-room. Good 
fellowship perhaps best expresses the motto of El Tovar. 

The hotel contains more than a hundred bedrooms. 
Ample accommodations are provided for two hundred and 
fifty guests, and more can be comfortably housed in the 
annex, at Bright Angel Camp. Outside are porches and 
roof gardens, from which one has wide views in every 
direction. The inside finish is mainly of peeled slabs, wood 
in the rough, and tinted plaster, interspersed with huge 
wooden beams. Triple casement windows and generous 
fireplaces abound. Indian curios and trophies of the chase 
are used in the decorations. The furniture is of special 
pattern. 

El Tovar is more than a hotel; it is a village devoted 
to the entertainment of travelers. Far from the accus- 
tomed home of luxury, money has here summoned the 
beneficent genii who minister to our bodily comfort. Merely 
that you may have pure water to drink, it is brought from 



18 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

a mountain spring ninety miles away! And that is only 
one of the many provisions tor unquestioned excellence 
of shelter and food. The hotel is conducted on the American 
plan. The rates are four dollars a day and upwards. 

The Rendezvous. Leaving the train at the station, 
a short distance from the hotel, you proceed up a winding 
road to the main entrance, a hasty glimpse through low 
cedars revealing the far canyon wall. 

Above the wide steps, and in front of the Norway gable, 
hospitably swings the Tovar coat-of-arms. On the broad 
porch are numerous rocking-chairs and small tables, with 
a push-button handy for ordering light refreshments. 
The porch corners are of solid rough masonry, built in 
old mission style, the arches wide and low. The first 
impression is one of good cheer. Once inside, the traveler 
will willingly linger a few moments in the Rendezvous 
or Nimrod's Cabin. This is a large room, forty-one by 
thirty-seven feet, notable for uneven walls of dark stained 
logs and bulky rafters. In a huge corner fireplace, pine 
knots burn cheerily when the air is chilly. Electric lights 
are placed in log squares, swinging from the low roof at 
the end of long chains. Gray Navaho rugs cover the brown 
floor. There are cosy tete-a-tetes and easy chairs. On 
an upper shelf repose heads of the deer, elk, moose, moun- 
tain sheep, and buff^alo, mingling with curiously shaped 
and gaudily tinted Indian jars from the southwest pueblos. 
An old-fashioned clock ticks off the hours. Several small 
escritoires remind you of letters to be written to the home 
people. Recessed window-seats, partly hidden by red 
curtains, complete the picture. 

What wonder that every morning and evening most of 
the guests gather in this room — the ladies to read and 
gossip; the gentlemen to smoke and tell of their latest 
adventures. Few country clubs have as pleasant a meeting 
place; yet it is only one of El Tovar's many allurements. 

The Office and Ladies' Lounging Room. Cross the 
western edge of the Rendezvous, and you are in the ro- 



EL TOVAR AND ITS EQUIPMENTS 19 

tunda, the centre of the hotel's many activities and its very 
necessary hub. Whether bound for dining-room or par- 
lors, for guest chamber or amusement room; whether 
attracted by the chck of billiards below^, or the brightness 
of the roof-garden above, — all paths here intersect. 

On the first floor is the office. A story above, reached 
by an easily ascended stairway, is the ladies' lounging 
room, nestled around an octagonal open space that ex- 
tends from the office to the roof. 

Just beyond are the art rooms, containing paintings and 
photographs of the Canyon; on the walls hang paintings of 
southwest scenery from the brushes of noted American 
artists, including some of Thomas Moran's masterpieces. 
Yellow hangings and electric lights brighten the dark tones 
of the woodwork. 

The Sleeping-Rooms. There are more than a hundred of 
them. They are found on all four floors. The Arizona 
sunshine generously enters each one at some hour of the 
day. Steam heat (automatically regulated), electric lights 
and office telephones are provided — willing servants quickly 
to do your bidding. 

On the first and second floors are forty-two rooms en 
suite. There are twenty-one commodious bathrooms, 
white as snow and kept spotlessly clean. 

On the office and first floors are two private parlors en 
suite. The furniture is mostly of arts and crafts design. 

Dining-Room. When travel stains are removed, you are 
directed to the dining-room. It is quadrangular in form, 
ninety feet long by forty feet wide, arched overhead, the 
roof supported by six huge log trusses. Walls and trusses 
and roof are all finished in rough wood, and are as brown 
as a coffee berry. The two fireplaces are built of gray 
sandstone. 

A dozen electroliers of rustic pattern hang from the ceil- 
ing. Electric wall lights and candelabra for the side tables 
complete the lighting. 

Through any of the many triple windows may be seen 



20 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

the large-eyed stars; for here the sky seems to bend closer 
to earth than in lower altitudes. 

The tables are adorned with glass, silver and flowers. 
You also notice old brass dishes, antique Dutch and Eng- 
glish platters, and Indian ollas, displayed on the plate rail. 

Well-trained waitresses, in white uniforms, deftly serve 
the meal, which is Harvey's best. While you are leisurely 
dining, it is pleasant to look around and see who your 
neighbors are. They have come here from every section 
— perhaps a Nev/ York or Chicago banker, a Harvard 
professor, an Arizona ranchman, an English globe-trotter, 
and a German savant. Pretty women and lovely children 
complete the picture. 

The dinner itself is prepared under the direction of a 
capable Italian chef, once employed in New York and 
Chicago clubs. He presides over one of the most complete 
and up-to-the-minute hotel kitchens in the United States. 

On the right of the main entrance is a small breakfast 
room, tastefully decorated in fifteenth century style. On 
the left is a private dining-room, whose wall decorations 
mainly consist of Indian deer hieroglyphics, reproduced 
from old pictographs in Mallery Grotto. 

The Music -Room and Solarium. At the end of the 
north vv'ing, on the office floor, fronting the Canyon's 
abyss, is a spacious room devoted to refined amuse- 
ments. The wall decorations are of gold, trimmed 
in old ivory, imitating fifteenth century leather. Sunshine 
streams in from numerous windows. The music-room 
is so admirably located and so daintily furnished, that 
it is a favorite resort for lovers of music, cards, and danc- 
ing. 

Where the south wing terminates, and on the office 
floor, is a sunny, glass-enclosed nook, open on three sides 
and sheltered from cool north winds. It is called the 
solarium or sun-parlor. To this retreat come the ladies, 
with sewing baskets and books. It is quite the fad to take 
a sun-bath here. 



EL TOVAR AND ITS EQUIPMENTS 21 

On the top floor, and out of doors, are two roof gardens, 
where Hght refreshments are served. 

The Amusement Room and Clubroom. On the ground 
floor, easily reached from the office and from the rim 
pathway, is the amusement room, fitted with bilHard, pool, 
and card tables, and shuffle-boards. Adjacent is the 
clubroom. 

Water Supply. For fire purposes, there is a Knowles 
high-duty underwriter's fire pump, which is regularly used 
for the transportation of water to the high steel water-tank, 
capable of holding three hundred and twenty thousand gal- 
lons. Pure spring water is hauled in tank cars from Belle- 
mont, ninety miles away, about seven cars a day being 
required for all purposes. Every drop of water, before 
entering the hotel, passes through two quartz filters, and 
drinking water is distilled twice and then aerated. 

Sewerage. The sewerage system of a large hotel is a 
matter of primary importance. At El Tovar the matter 
was given more than usual care and foresight. An anti- 
septic system was installed, at a cost of over twenty thou- 
sand dollars. The sewage is conveyed by underground 
pipes a long distance to solid concrete tanks, where the 
solids are disposed of by natural processes. The liquids 
pass through eight filter beds, and then enter the ditch 
colorless and odorless. 

Bright Angel Camp. To accommodate those desiring 
less expensive quarters. Bright Angel Camp — old Bright 
Angel Hotel remodelled — is operated on the European 
plan. Rooms are one dollar a day each person; meals 
are obtained at Harvey cafe. The lodgings and fare here 
are of a much simpler kind than at El Tovar, but clean, 
wholesome, and thoroughly comfortable. 

This Camp supplements the higher class service at the 
big hotel. 

Transportation Facilities at El Tovar. Travelers who 
visit the Grand Canyon will be pleased to find an up-to-date 
livery service maintained in connection with El Tovar 



22 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Hotel and Bright Angel Camp. They are thus able easily 
and comfortably to take pleasant sightseeing tours away 
from the hotel to obtain different views of the Canyon. 
Most visitors here do not realize that the granite gorge 
district of Grand Canyon alone is about seventy miles 
in length, ranging from ten to fifteen miles in width, and 
that from every accessible point along the rim a different 
outlook may be had, each unsurpassed of its kind. The 
transportation department is only one of the many pleasing 
details provided for the comfort of those who come to the 
Grand Canyon. It is thoroughly organized and equipped. 

Trips to Take. At both El Tovar and Bright Angel, 
throughout the day and evening, will be found an agent 
representing this department. By means of telephonic 
communication between the hotels and the stables, these 
agents can provide in a surprisingly short time saddle- 
horses for a ride down one of the many bridle-paths, turn- 
outs for a drive along the shady roads near the rim, or 
sure-footed trail animals for a descent into the Canyon 
on Bright Angel Trail. 

The Buildings in Detail. The several buildings of the 
transportation department, which are located among the 
trees a short distance from the hotel, across the railroad 
track, are all new and well built, being models in design 
and construction, and are thoroughly systematized for 
rapid service. 

That portion of the stables where the animals are kept, 
and which accommodates about one hundred and fifteen 
head, is thoroughly equipped with the most approved 
methods for the care of the stock, including a complete 
system for drainage and cleanliness; vermin proof, zinc- 
lined storage bins, and automatic self-recording feeding 
apparatus. Other departments are a blacksmith, car- 
penter and paint shop; harness, storage, and repair rooms, 
offices for the stable manager and his assistants; and a large 
wagon-room where the carriages, wagons, and other con- 
veyances are housed. Visitors to this part of the stables 



EL TOVAR AND ITS EQUIPMENTS 23 

will note an interesting feature in the painting of the ve- 
hicles, namely, that each is in the EI Tovar colors, — 
the body being dark yellow, and the wheels lighter yellow, 
striped with red. Each coach bears, in addition to the 
coat of arms of Pedro del Tovar, an individual name, 
selected from tribes of the Southwest Indians. For in- 
stance, visitors will recall having driven to various points 
on the rim in stages named " Navaho," " Supai," " Walpi," 
etc. 

A large corral provides for the turning out of stock not 
In use. 

Employees' Quarters. There is also a building devoted 
to the accommodation of the employees of this department, 
comprised of kitchen and dining-rooms, sleeping quarters, 
and a smoking, reading and recreation room. 

The grounds around the employees' building, commonly 
called the mess house, are laid off into walks and gardens. 
Owing to the quantity and quality of the soil being superior 
to that around El Tovar (which is near the rim and there- 
fore on almost naked rock), the grass, and the domestic and 
wild flowers, which are cared for by the men, thrive abun- 
dantly. 

The Mallery Grotto. This is a small and rather insig- 
nificant cave just under the rim, to the extreme left (west) 
of El Tovar amphitheatre, wherein a number of interesting 
Indian pictographs are to be seen. The overhanging rock 
makes a rude cave or grotto, and it has been named Mallery 
Grotto, after Garrick Mallery, the great authority on the 
pictographs of the North American Indians. His latest 
monograph takes up the whole of one of the large volumes 
of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, and in its nearly 
eight hundred pages there are one thousand two hundred 
and ninety illustrations. To this illuminating book, there- 
fore, the curious student is referred for further information 
regarding the pictographs themselves. 

Trail to Mallery Grotto. Leaving El Tovar, the visitor 
can easily walk to and from Mallery Grotto in half an hour. 



24 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Keeping on the rim, he passes the old Bright Angel Hotel, 
and all the buildings, about as far past the log house as 
that is from El Tovar. There, in a slight depression, he 
will see the foot-trail leading down from the rim to the 
Grotto. It is a place about forty to fifty feet long, and with 
an overhanging wall of from five to fifteen feet high, and 
ten to twenty feet broad. The shelf upon which one walks 
is narrow, but I have slept there many a time in cold and 
rainy weather. 

The pictographs are mainly in a rich brownish-red, and 
are of deer, mountain-sheep, men and women, serpentine 
lines suggesting the course of rivers, rain-clouds, lightning, 
and many-legged reptiles, — or what seem to represent 
these things. They were here, exactly as one now sees 
them, when I first camped here with some friendly Havasu- 
pais, nearly twenty years ago, and I was then informed 
that some of the designs represent great hunts, in which 
their ancestors had been successful. 

Of the genuineness of the pictographs no one need have 
the slightest question. They afford a good opportunity 
to those who have never before seen such specimens of 
aboriginal art, to examine a fairly representative lot of 
them. 




Putnam & I 'iilciilir. . i 

TRAIL PAK'rV STARTING FROM BRIGHT ANGEL CAMP. 
Page 34 




M.WS LN 1 KA.XCi:. l-.L '|(i\Al 
Page iS 



CHAPTER IV 

THE GRAND CANYON AT EL TOVAR 

If guests at the Canyon will take this book in hand and, 
line by line, read this chapter, just as they would listen 
to the talk of a friend in whose knowledge they confide, 
they will leave the Canyon with fewer erroneous conceptions 
than are quite common now. 

El Tovar Amphitheatre. The first thing to be observed 
is that El Tovar rests in the centre of the curve of a wide 
crescent, named El Tovar amphitheatre, the arms of 
which extend out into the heart of the Canyon, and shut in 
the scenery from the east and west, concentrating the view. 
These arms afford an excellent opportunity for seeing the 
various carboniferous deposits. The topmost is the cherty 
limestone, the layers of which lead the eye to the cross- 
bedded sandstone, a creamy buff in color, and composed of 
a soft, sugary sand. Each of these walls is from five hundred 
to six hundred feet high, though in some parts of the 
Canyon they are reduced to not more than four hundred 
feet. 

Maricopa and El Tovar Points. .El Tovar is six thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-six feet above sea level; the highest 
part of the point on the left is seven thousand and fifty feet, 
and on the right seven thousand feet. The point to the left, 
Maricopa Point, is a portion of the great promontory known 
as Hopi Point, to which all Canyon visitors should go. 
That to the right is El Tovar Point. 

Heights and Depths. The height of the lime and sand- 
stone walls can readily be measured by looking down upon 
the rudely carved mass of red sandstone slightly to the left, 
which has been called the " Battleship." The top of this 



26 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

is five thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven feet above 
sea level. Now look up to the Maricopa Point above, 
seven thousand and fifty feet. The difference is one thou- 
sand one hundred and eighty-three feet, which is practically 
the height of these two strata. 

Bright Angel Creek. Almost at the first glance, the at- 
tention is arrested by the break in the north wall, slightly 
to the right of where we stand, which makes a wide lateral 
gorge running at right angles to the main course of the 
river. This is Bright Angel Gorge, showing the course 
of Bright Angel Creek, which flows between its lower walls. 
It received its name from Major Powell, when he and his 
party descended the river. Earlier in their explorations 
they had ascended a side stream, and one of the men had 
declared it to be a dirty devil of a river;, and for many 
years it bore the name " Dirty Devil River," until Powell 
changed it on the map to Fremont River. When, later, this 
exquisitely pure and beautiful side stream was reached, 
the great explorer determined that as one stream had been 
named after the prince of the powers of darkness, he would 
name this after the bright and beautiful powers, — hence 
the name " Bright Angel." 

A reference to the chapter " How the Canyon was 
Formed," will explain how this side gorge came into exist- 
ence, and also account for the great upthrust of the granitic 
rock at its mouth, for the most casual observer cannot 
fail to note the presence of this rock much higher than it is 
seen elsewhere. 

The North Wall. Before paying particular attention 
to the vast forms that crowd the interior of the Canyon, 
let us follow the " build " of the massive wall on 
the north side. This is part of the great Kaibab Plateau, 
the highest wall of the whole Canyon system. Its elevation 
is eight thousand three hundred, as against six thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-six feet at EI Tovar, and it is 
thirteen miles in an air line from the south rim, where 
the hotel is located, to the north rim. 



THE GRAND CANYON AT EL TOVAR 27 

The reason for this difference in elevation is explained 
in the chapter " How the Canyon was Formed." In brief, 
it is that, during a process of " faulting," the north wall 
was thrust up above the level of the south wall. 

Features above Bright Angel Creek. In any other region 
but here, this Bright Angel Gorge and the massive figures 
of rock that sentinel and guard it would be regarded as a 
scenic marvel, but here it is a mere trivial incident in the 
greater scenery of the greater Canyon. Yet it is well to 
note the massive red sandstone points that are lined up 
on either side on the plateau, above the darkest recesses 
of the gorge, reminding one of the rows of sphynxes that 
guard the entrances of some of the Egyptian temples. 

Up Bright Angel Creek. Occasionally parties cross the 
river (either by boat or in an iron cage suspended by a 
cable), and ascend to the north rim by means of a rude 
trail up Bright Angel Creek. As the trail for a part of the 
way ascends the floor of the gorge, down which the stream 
flows, and as it is exceedingly narrow and without any 
way of escape in case of severe rain or flood, it is not always 
safe. To one, however, who loves a rough and ad- 
venturous trip, the ascent of this gorge will probably give 
great satisfaction. A little more than a third of the way up, 
a waterfall is passed, called " Ribbon Falls." The trail 
winds and twists with the course of the stream, and finally 
reaches the summit at an elevation of eight thousand five 
hundred feet, not far from Greenland Spring. From 
here one may go east over the Walhalla Plateau to Niji 
Point, and overlook the Chuar Valley at the mouth of 
Marble Canyon, where Dr. Walcott spent a winter study- 
ing the Algonkian strata of that region. To the west is 
Point Sublime, Powell Plateau, and other scenery of an 
unusually majestic character. 

Features of the North Wall. But let us now return to 
the main north wall before us. The green tufts, that at 
this distance appear as grass or shrubs, partially covering 
the top of the wall and descending the slopes into the 



28 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Canyon, are in reality great trees, mainly pines and black 
birches, from twenty-five to over one hundred and one 
hundred and fifty feet in height. The forest that covers 
the Kaibab Plateau contains many majestic trees, and some 
of these have wandered over the rim to peep into the depths 
of the abyss below. The cherty limestone strata are thus 
largely covered, but the next stratum is the clear band 
of cross-bedded sandstone, which corresponds to the second 
member of the geological series seen in the arm of the am- 
phitheatre at Maricopa Point, and is from five hundred 
to six hundred feet wide. 

Then the eye rests upon slopes of talus, which reach 
down to the red strata of varying thicknesses, which are 
deposited above the red-wall limestone, the widest member 
of the whole Canyon group. These walls are cut and re- 
cessed into all kinds of shapes and forms, angles, prom- 
ontories and recesses, which, especially in the early morning 
and late afternoon, cast shadows of inexpressible beauty. 

The Red-Wall Limestone. We now come to the red-wall 
limestone nearly six hundred feet in thickness. What a 
striking, massive wall it is, and how impressive, when 
seen even at this immense distance. This wall is red only 
because it is stained by the color washed down by the rain 
from the red strata above. In reality, it is a rich creamy 
lime, but only where the red strata above have been de- 
graded and washed away does the natural color of this 
wall appear. 

The Plateau. Below the red-wall limestone, there are 
several strata of red and gray and olive rocks that slope 
to the plateau. This plateau is not quite so wide on the 
north side as on the south, owing to El Tovar being located 
in the recess of a great amphitheatre. It is from these 
plateaus that the finest views of the real Canyon can be 
obtained. The visitor, sitting on the porch or on the rim 
at El Tovar, cannot realize that below his feet, as it were, 
there is an almost exact duplication of the wall and slopes 
of talus, the thrilling precipices, the alcoves, recesses, 



THE GRAND CANYON AT EL TOVAR 29 

promontories and the like, that he sees on the north side. 
And yet a trip down the trail on to the plateaus reveals 
these stupendous facts in a manner that is surprising even 
to those who, for years, have been familiar with them. 
How much more, then, is such an experience to a tyro. 
I have met men who were world-wide travelers, and who 
were visiting the Canyon for the first time; some of these 
were expert geologists, yet they refused to go down the 
trail, with the excuse that they could fully grasp the scenery 
from the rim. But that is impossible. The human mind 
cannot realize the effects of vastness and power this Canyon 
scenery produces, except when one stands below the cliffs 
and looks up. And where the opportunity is given of look- 
ing both up to towering walls, and down over beetling 
precipices, the effect is enhanced. 

The Tonto Sandstones. Below the plateau, slight slopes 
lead the eye to the last of the stratified rocks, the Tonto 
sandstones of the Cambrian period. These are readily 
distinguished, mainly by their deep buff color and the 
fact that generally they are found resting on the archaean or 
unstratified rocks, locally though incorrectly termed the 
granite, which makes the Inner Gorge through which the 
river runs. This " granite " is in the main a blackish 
gneiss. 

The Algonkian Strata. Though the Tonto sandstones 
usually occupy the location named, there is a deviation 
from this in the presence of some remnants of strata of 
the Algonkian period, directly opposite El Tovar. This 
deviation is discussed in the chapter " How the Canyon 
was Formed." These remarkable rocks occur to the left 
(west) of Bright Angel Creek, and lie immediately above 
the gneiss. Their brilliant red reveals them, and they can 
be followed up under the base of the Cheops and to a small 
wash to the left of Osiris. At the mouth of Bright Angel, 
they rest upon the archaean, with the Tonto sandstones 
above them, but just in front of the Battleship a break 
in the gneiss occurs, and on the portion nearest us the 



30 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Algonkian strata totally disappear, for the Tonto strata 
rest directly upon the gneiss. 

Zoroaster, Brahma and Deva Temples. Now, in turn, 
let the eye rest upon the temples, towers and buttes that 
stand in the heart of the Canyon, more or less detached 
from the main wall. To the right of Bright Angel Creek, 
striking buttes keep guard. The nearest is an angular 
mass of solid, unrelieved rock, sloping in a peculiarly 
oblique fashion. It is Zoroaster Temple, seven thousand 
one hundred and thirty-six feet in elevation. Close behind 
it is a more ornate and dignified mass, Brahma Temple, 
named after the first of the Hindoo triad, the supreme 
creator, to correspond with the Shiva Temple, soon to be 
described, on the right. Shiva, the destroyer; Brahma, 
the creator. The one controlling the forces that have 
destroyed the strata; the other dominating the powers 
that have brought these structures into existence. Brahma 
is seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four feet in eleva- 
tion. Behind Brahma is another butte, which, however, 
cannot always be dissevered from the main wall. It has 
no cap of cherty limestone. It can be readily discerned, 
therefore, by its flat-topped appearance. It is Deva Temple, 
seven thousand three hundred and forty-four feet above 
sea level. 

Buddha Temple and Cloister; Manu Temple. To the 
left of the Bright Angel Gorge, quite an assemblage of 
buttes awaits inspection. The dominating pile almost 
opposite Brahma — across Bright Angel — is Buddha 
Temple, and below it is Buddha Cloister. Beyond this 
is another butte, which, however, at times, can scarcely 
be detected from the main walls of the Kaibab. Yet it 
is a separate butte of great proportions, and is named 
Manu Temple, after the great law-giver of the Hindoos. 
Buddha's elevation is seven thousand two hundred and 
eighteen feet, while Manu's is seven thousand one hundred 
and ninety-two. 

Cheops Pyramid. To the left of Buddha Temple, and 



THE GRAND CANYON AT EL TOVAR 31 

nearer to us, is a massive though less ornately carved 
monument than Buddha. It is Cheops Pyramid, a de- 
tached mass ot the red-wall limestone, which, however, 
is rapidly losing its red color, owing to the disappearance 
of the red strata from above. Cheops is five thousand three 
hundred and fifty feet in elevation, and is of a peculiar 
shape, as of some quaint and Oriental device of symbolic 
significance. 

Isis and Shiva Temples. Just above, and farther to 
the left, is a peculiar temple, resting upon sloping taluses 
of the red strata beneath, its cap formed of a lone, narrow 
ridge of cross-bedded sandstone. It has two great cloisters 
in front, and is named Isis Temple, after the feminine god 
of the Egyptians. Isis has an elevation of seven thousand 
twenty-eight feet, and is the eastern support of the gigantic 
rock mountain which towers over all the lesser structures. 
This is Shiva Temple, a solid mass, sliced off from the main 
Kaibab. The elevation is seven thousand six hundred and 
fifty feet, and it is thus described by Dutton, who named it: 

It is the grandest of all the buttes, and the most majestic 
in aspect, though not the most ornate. Its mass is as great 
as the mountainous part of Mount Washington. The 
summit looks down six thousand feet into the dark depths 
of the inner abyss, over a succession of ledges as impracti- 
cable as the face of Bunker Hill Monument. All around 
it are side gorges, sunk to a depth nearly as profound as that 
of the main channel. It stands in the midst of a ereat 
throng of cloister-like buttes, with the same noble profiles 
and strong lineaments as those immediately before us, with a 
plexus of awful chasms between. In such a stupendous 
scene of wreck it seems as if the fabled ' Destroyer ' 
might find an abode not wholly uncongenial." 

Horns Temple. Guardian temples to the west of Isis 
are Horus and Osiris. The former is nearer to the river. 
It is capped with the white sandstone, and is so closely 
sculptured that white fragments have fallen upon the 
sloping red talus beneath. The whole appearance is not 



32 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

unlike a giant hat of an Arab, with its streaming folds 
of white reaching far over the neck down the back. It 
rests upon a massive block of the red-wall limestone, which 
presents a bold face to the east. Its elevation is six thousand 
one hundred and fifty feet. 

Osiris Temple. Behind Shiva is Osiris Temple, with 
an elevation of six thousand six hundred and thirty-seven 
feet. At the proper angle it is seen to be as prominent 
before Shiva as is Horus, but our angle of vision gives it 
the retreating effect. It is a gracefully domed temple in the 
cross-bedded sandstone, and clearly reveals its five hundred 
feet superior height over Horus. 

The walls seen behind Osiris are not those of Point Sub- 
lime, as some suppose. This massive promontory on the 
north side is hidden by the nose of Maricopa Point. The 
walls are a portion of the Kaibab Plateau, leading towards 
Point Sublime, but not a part of it. 

Ra Pyramid. In front of Horus is the tower of a sym- 
metrically constructed pyramid in the red strata, far more 
like Cheops than is the structure of that name. It is five 
thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven feet above the 
level of the sea, — a memorial of the great Ra, far greater 
than any temple erected by human hands. 

The Maiden's Breast. At the end of Maricopa Point 
is a majestic structure bigger than many national capitols 
combined, yet so small here as hitherto to have passed 
unnoticed. It is crowned, however, with a small nipple 
in red sandstone, to which the Havasupais give a name 
signifying the Maiden's Breast. It is five thousand four 
hundred and fifty feet high, — quite a height for any 
earthly maiden. 

Miles of Walls of Varying Lengths. As we look at 
these wonderful walls, a new idea dawns upon us. The 
engineer tells us that the Canyon is two hundred and 
seventeen miles long. That, however, is only the length of 
the river, as it runs its winding way along. But the w^alls 
cannot thus be measured. Take the red-wall limestone 





Copyright by Fred Harvey. 
COACHING PARTY LKAVING EL TO\AR. 
Page 22 




Cotyright by Fred Harvey. 



EL TO\-AR STABLES. 
Fage 22 



THE GRAND CANYON AT EL TOVAR 33 

and follow it on its devious way, in and out of deeply al- 
coved recesses, up side gorges and down again, around the 
curves of cloisters and along the bases of the great buttes. 
The aggregate distance followed will be many thousands 
of miles. The strata that have the longer course, on ac- 
count of their greater extent of terracing, are those that 
make an eight-hundred-feet-wide band of gray and bright 
red sandstone, which rests above the red-wall limestone. 

Angel Plateau and Indian Garden. Now let the 
eye fall upon the plateau beneath. This is named 
Angel Plateau. The green near its centre has the 
first claim. This green patch is called Indian Garden, 
for in past years, before the white man wrested his 
possessions from him, a certain family of the Havasupais 
used to farm in a crude way on this spot. When I first 
visited this plateau, some seventeen or more years ago, the 
remnants of the old Indian irrigating ditches could be seen. 
Now it is cultivated by the white man to good effect, and 
delicious watermelons and cantaloupe as well as tasty 
vegetables grow in abundance. This is called half-way 
down to the river in distance. The elevation is three thou- 
sand eight hundred and seventy-six feet, so that from our 
six thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet we gaze 
down two thousand nine hundred and ninety feet. Many 
who go down the trail do not go below this plateau. A 
point can be seen, also the line of the trail leading to it, 
from which an excellent and extensive view of the raging 
river, with some of its rapids, may be had. 



CHAPTER V 

THREE WAYS OF SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 

There are many who can take only a hasty trip to the 
Canyon. This is to be deplored, as the Grand Canyon is one 
of the sights that cannot be fully comprehended in a day; 
and yet, if one has but a day, to get merely one good long 
glimpse at it is worth all the effort and expense that it may 
cost, even to the least wealthy of its visitors. And while 
it cannot be too strongly urged that all who come prepare 
themselves to stay at least a week — a month is far better — 
I offer a few practical suggestions to those who have less 
time, and wish to use it to the fullest possible advantage. 

Three Suggestions to the " One-Day " Visitor. To those 
who have but one full day, a choice is offered of three 
courses, — one is to stay on the rim and drive to Grand 
View; the second to go to Hopi and Yavapai Points; the 
third to ride down the trail. Fully twenty-five per cent of 
all visitors prefer the latter, and their decision is wise, if 
they are reasonably strong. 

First Trip. — Down Bright Angel Trail. To an ordinarily 
well person, there is neither danger nor serious fatigue 
in this trip, but it is not to be ignored that riding down, 
down, down, for four thousand four hundred and thirty 
feet (the difference in elevation between the rim and the 
river) puts a pressure upon certain generally unused muscles, 
so that one returns tired. But it is a healthful fatigue, and 
invariably benefits all who experience it. To go down 
the trail and back is enough to accomplish in one day, 
unless the visitor is very " strenuous," although not a few 



SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 35 

do take the drive out to Hopi Point and see the sunset, upon 
returning from the trail trip. Those who take this ride 
down the trail, after arriving on the morning train, do 
not go as far down as the river. They visit the Indian 
Garden, and are then taken out to a prominent point of 
Angel Plateau, and there obtain a fine view of the river. 
From the scenic standpoint, this is much to be preferred to 
going down to the river itself, especially when time is 
limited. The trail to the river is down a side gorge, where 
one's view is materially obstructed, and while there is 
great satisfaction in standing immediately before the river 
itself, and seeing it roll along between the gloomy walls of 
the Inner Gorge, one does not see as much of it, or in so 
striking a setting, as from the plateau, one thousand three 
hundred and twenty feet above. 

If one is determined to go to the river, however, it will 
be necessary for him to arrange for a special guide, and 
push along down the trail with vigor, for the regular trail 
party for the river leaves at 8.30 a. m., while the train does 
not arrive at El Tovar until about 9 o'clock, and one may 
wish to take breakfast before starting. Hence the start 
is seldom accomplished until after ten o'clock, two hours 
beyond the allotted time. 

Second Trip. To Hopi and Yavapai Points. To the less 
strenuous visitor who wishes to see all he can in one day, 
without the fatigue of the trail trip, two courses are open. 
One is to take, the two short drives out to Yavapai Point — 
which gives the panorama views to the east — and to 
Hopi Point, which gives a corresponding view to the west, 
or take the drive to Grand View Point. Though Yavapai 
Point is but three miles away, the drive and the time re- 
quired for sight-seeing occupy about two hours. Leaving 
El Tovar, the road plunges among the trees at once, on 
passing the railway. Here are pines, pinions and junipers, 
with a sprinkling of scrub oaks, and the flowering bush, 
with white flowers and long velvety tendrils, locally known 



36 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

as the cinchona. Here and there a yucca baccata thrusts 
out its bayonets from the ground, as if in warning, and a 
score or more of flowers give variety of color to the greens 
of the trees, in due season. 

Outlook from Yavapai Point. Arrived at Yavapai Point, 
the river can be clearly seen at two different places; before 
us, directly across the Canyon, is the Bright Angel Gorge, 
with a full view of Zoroaster, Brahma and Deva Temples. 
To the right, the nearest promontory is Yaki Point, re- 
minding us of the Yakis (Yaquis), who are now making 
so valiant a struggle for the possession of their home in 
Mexico. Below the point, its continuation terminates in a 
butte of great massiveness, which has been named O'Neill 
Butte, after the Arizona pioneer who was slain during the 
charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill. Beyond 
Yaki Point, in the far-away east, two other great promon- 
tories arrest the attention. These are way beyond Grand 
View and the old Hance Trails, and are Pinal and Lipan 
Points, leading the eye to a " wavy " wall, slightly to their 
left. This wall, topped with a series of curves, is the western 
wall of the Little Colorado River; and the smoother wall 
beyond, to the left, is the further or eastern wall. Here 
this tributary river and canyon connect with the Grand 
Canyon, from a general southeasterly course. It will be 
recalled that transcontinental travelers cross the Little 
Colorado River at Winslow. From that point it flows 
in a northwesterly direction, through the sands of the 
Painted Desert, its banks bearing many and large cotton- 
wood trees. A cable affords a safe crossing, even during 
high water, about fifteen miles from Canyon Diablo, to 
those who travel for pleasure or profit into the country of 
the Navahos and Hopis. Thirty or forty miles further 
on, there are two fords, one at Black Falls and the other 
called Tanner Crossing, after the Mormon pioneer who 
helped to build the Tanner-French trail into the Grand 
Canyon. Below this latter crossing, it " boxes," and from 
there on, until it joins the main canyon, cuts down deeper 



SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 37 

and deeper until, at the mouth, it is so narrow and so deep 
(about four thousand feet) that it meets the popular con- 
ception as to what is a canyon, far better than does the 
Grand Canyon itself. 

Wotan's Throne. Two majestic buttes in the heart 
of the Canyon, to the east, have been demanding our atten- 
tion for some time. They are both towering mountains 
of rock, that stand out even more strikingly than do the 
temples near at hand. The flat-topped mass is Wotan's 
Throne (once Newberry Terrace), and is as massive as 
Shiva Temple, seen to the west. Its elevation is seven 
thousand seven hundred feet. 

Vishnu Temple. The more ornate and sculptured of 
the buttes is Vishnu Temple, a solid mountain of rock 
carved into a majestic form by centuries of erosion. Wher- 
ever one stands, at the eastern end of the Canyon, whether 
on the north or the south, on the promontories at the rim 
or on the plateaus beneath, it is the dominating and eye- 
compelling object. It is, without doubt, the most stupendous 
mass of nature's carving in the known world. It is seven 
thousand five hundred and thirty-seven feet above sea level, 
and over five thousand feet above the Colorado River, which 
practically laves its base. 

In front of Wotan's Throne, and a trifle nearer the river, 
is the Angel Gate, described in the chapter on Indian 
Legends. 

Indian Garden. Now let the eye fall upon the Bright 
Angel Plateau. The tents, etc., at Indian Garden, are 
clearly to be seen, as well as any trail party that may happen 
to be crossing the plateau. The insignificant size of the 
horses and mules and their riders can scarcely be believed 
by those who have not thus seen them. They appear much 
smaller than the puppets of a child's Noah's Ark, or 
tin toy soldiers. Flies are about as large as they seem to 
be. Here we are at an elevation of seven thousand and 
eighty-one feet. At the Garden the elevation is three 
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six feet, so we are 



38 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

looking down four thousand two hundred and five feet, 
over three-fourths of a mile, a distance almost impossible 
for the ordinary mind to comprehend. 

Immediately below us, to the right, we see the rugged 
gorge of gneiss in which flows Pipe Creek. The left fork 
of this (to the west) is Garden Creek. A small break 
from Angel Plateau will be observed, where Garden Creek 
curves to enter Pipe Creek. Here is a beautiful mass 
of green, and not far away the trail that leads from 
the plateau to the river is in sight. At the end of the 
green patch is a waterfall, seventy-five feet high, which 
those who descend to the river may climb up and view, 
if they do not mind wetting their feet in crossing the tiny 
stream. 

El Tovar Point. A quarter of a mile west from Yavapai 
Point is El Tovar Point, so named because it is the end of 
the right arm of the amphitheatre in which El Tovar is 
located, and also because it affords a fine view of El Tovar 
hotel. It used to be called Grandeur Point. Its elevation 
is seven thousand feet. 

Coconino Forest and Angel Plateau. To the west and 
south, the eye passes over the hotel to the downward slope 
of the Coconino forest, beyond into the dry bed of the 
ancient Eocene lake, and then rests upon the blue ridge 
beyond, where the lava-flows from Mount Floyd shut in 
the view. It is a glorious expanse of over a hundred miles, 
and on a clear day every object is plainly to be discerned. 
Here even better views of the Angel Plateau may be ob- 
tained than from Yavapai Point, and an excellent outlook 
over the narrow break in the great wall, where the shattering 
of the strata and the deposition of talus and vegetable matter 
made possible the building of the zigzag portion of the trail 
near the top. The faulting of the strata is clearly seen, 
and the observer will not fail to note that the strata of the 
left arm of El Tovar Amphitheatre are thrust up some one 
hundred to two hundred feet above the level of the same 
strata upon which El Tovar itself stands. This is one line 




Copyright by Fred Harvey. 
BRIGHT ANGEL CREEK FROM YAVAPAI (o'nEILL) POINT. 
Page 34 



SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 39 

of the Bright Angel fault, which extends across the river, and 
accounts for the carving out of the Bright Angel Gorge 
as described in the chapter: " How the Canyon was 
Formed." 

How exquisite is the rich beauty of the greens of the Doug- 
las spruces, and the vegetation on the upper part of the 
trail, contrasted with the reds and grays and creams and 
buffs of the rocks around! 

The round trip from El Tovar to Yavapai Point is about 
six miles. A foot-path has been cut from El Tovar to 
El Tovar Point, so that visitors may walk to and fro between 
these so diverse and yet equally attractive outlooks over the 
Canyon. 

Drive to Hopi Point. This point is three miles to the 
west, and is just beyond Maricopa Point, which is practi- 
cally the left arm of El Tovar Amphitheatre. The round 
trip is about six miles, taking in both points, and occupies 
from an hour and a half to two hours. Those who go in 
private conveyances generally stay longer, and make a 
three-hour trip of it. 

Leaving El Tovar, the road turns southwest for a short 
distance, and then enters the forest to the north. It is a 
restful drive over a well-made road. 

View at Hopi Point. The first impression when one 
arrives at Hopi Point is of the nearness of the buttes, and 
the sheer precipitousness of the place upon which he stands. 
Both are owing to the fact that Hopi Point is thrust far 
into the heart of the Canyon. Its elevation is seven thousand 
and forty-nine feet. 

Dana Butte. Immediately before the gaze, a continu- 
ation of Hopi Point at the five thousand and twenty-five 
foot level, is a butte that would dwarf into insignificance 
the most stupendous of all the world's city sky-scrapers, 
yet here it is hardly noticeable in the wealth of more massive 
and majestic structures. It is Dana Butte, so named after 
the great geologist. Across the river, which here can be 
seen in five different places, are the temples to the right 



40 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

or east of Bright Angel Gorge, while Buddha and Manu 
on the left (west) are equally in evidence. But right before 
us is the dominating mass of Shiva Temple, with Isis 
Temple and Cheops Pyramid guarding it on the right. 
To the left, new architectural forms and masses come out 
into clearer view, two of these being stupendous structures 
of great beauty and majesty that guard the approach to 
Shiva Temple. These are Osiris and Horus Temples, the 
latter being in front. 

Tower of Set. Just before Horus is a smaller but 
massive structure, known as the Tower of Set. The 
elevation of Osiris above sea level is six thousand six 
hundred and thirty-seven feet, that of Horus six thousand 
one hundred and fifty feet, and of the tower of Set five 
thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven feet. Beyond 
these, to the west and north, are Confucius and Mencius 
Temples, the latter being the nearer. These are respect- 
ively at an elevation of seven thousand one hundred 
and twenty-eight feet and seven thousand feet. The eye 
now rests on Point Sublime, the spot on which Captain 
Dutton sat when inditing his vividly descriptive accounts 
of the scenery of the Great Canyon. 

Marsh Butte. On this side of the river, nearly opposite 
Mencius Temple, is a butte of singularly beautiful structure, 
of an elevation of four thousand seven hundred and thirty 
feet. This is named Marsh Butte, in honor of the great 
paleontologist, the rival of the equally great Cope. In the 
far-away distance is Havasupai Point, the most notable of 
all the points of the south rim, because of its great pro- 
jection over the river. 

Dutton Point. Across from Havasupai Point, on the 
north side, is the mass of Powell Plateau, the " nose " 
of which, facing this way, is named Dutton Point, after the 
poet-geologist. Beyond, in the far-away distance, is to be 
seen the curve of the Canyon wall, at the Great Bend of 
the river, where the granite disappears from the Inner 
Gorge, and, resting upon the paler blue of the horizon, is 



SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 41 

the line of the Uinkaret Mountains in Southern Utah. 
What a wondrous outlook it is! 

On returning, a short stop is made at Maricopa Point, 
where the views are much the same, but changed by the 
new angle of vision. It is one of the great charms of the 
Canyon that each new point of view, even though not more 
than half a mile away, reveals new and interesting features 
of the stupendous wonder. 

Sunrise and Sunset at Hopi Pomt. It already has been 
pointed out that this is the strong scenic point near to El 
Tovar, for both eastern and western canyon scenery, 
though the eastern is not so fully revealed as from Yavapai 
Point. Regular conveyances take visitors out to this point 
both morning and evening. The scenic effects are height- 
ened in the Canyon a hundredfold by the presence of the 
morning and evening shadows. In the glare of the mid-day 
sun, the temples, towers, walls and buttes lose their dis- 
tinctiveness, while in the shadows of either early morning 
or the late afternoon, they stand forth as vividly as a profile 
cameo cut in black on a light ground. As the hours of 
sunrise and sunset vary, the drives are so planned as to 
reach the points at the proper time, so as not to weary the 
visitor by too long waiting, or lose the enchanting effects 
by too late arrival. As the sun sinks, the shadows lengthen 
and deepen, bringing out into bold relief features hitherto 
unobserved, and giving a sublimity to the vast scene that 
it did not possess in the full blaze of the sun. If clouds 
obscure the direct rays, all the better, for then other and 
even more startling effects of beauty and color are pro- 
duced. At times the whole Canyon seems filled with a 
luminous mist, in which the temples float into individual 
prominence in a remarkable manner. 

Then, as the vision is turned to the east, one may see 
the shadows gradually, and, at the last, rapidly rise and 
shut off the peach glows, the vermilions, the absolutely 
fiery lights, that often blaze in Hngering affection on the 
peaks they love so well to illumine. No two nights are the 



42 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

effects the same. One can never grow weary of watching 
them. Sometimes the tones are soft and tender. Again 
the vividness of the flaming colors is as if the god of color 
were declaring his power, and demanding special homage. 
From the soft tint of rose-ashes to the fiery red of a blinding 
sun, the whole gamut of colors and effects is used. The 
afterglow is by many considered more alluring than the 
sunset itself. 

The Canyon before Sunrise. An exquisite effect is seen by 
those who watch the Canyon before sunrise. A soft flood 
of reddish purple fills the vault, and rests in perfect harmony 
upon the great north wall. Little by little the darker tints 
are subdued, every moment adding to the charm of the 
changing effects, until suddenly the sun bursts over the 
horizon, floods the plateaus with Hght, or casts dark and 
richly purple shadows, and thus sets wall and recess, 
mountain butte and deep abyss in startling contrasts. 

Third Trip. Drive to Grand View. This is a fourteen- 
mile trip, over a fairly good road, made in comfort 
in two and a half hours. One may stay from two 
to four hours, observe all he wishes to see, and return 
to El Tovar in another two and a half hours, thus 
making twenty-eight miles for the round trip. The 
drive is through the Coconino Forest, by narrow 
canyoncitos (little canyons), washes, and through grassy 
glades and royal parks, where one need not be surprised 
at any moment to see deer or antelope bound before him. 
A full description of this trip is found in the chapter devoted 
to Grand View and its trail, the scenery being too varied 
and important to be hastily described. 

If one has but one day, and he wishes to spend it on 
the rim, the Grand View trip may be made with a limited 
amount of time devoted to sightseeing at that point, so that 
on the return the drive may be taken to Hopi Point in time 
to view the sunset. This, however, can usually only be 
done in the summer months, when the sunset is late enough 




CROSSING THE COLORADO RI\ER TO THE SHINUMO. 

Page 4q 




TRAH, PARTY IX FRONT OF EL TOVAR. 
Page 34 



SPENDING ONE DAY AT THE CANYON 43 

to afford time, though a strenuous " hustler " may compel 
time to yield to his demands, so that he can accomplish 
the two trips, even in winter. 

One thing should be noted about these rim or trail trips. 
They are all planned so as to afford ample time for meals 
before and after making them, and also to insure the 
catching of trains. The Fred Harvey system runs in har- 
mony with the Santa Fe Railway system, so that no matter 
how nervous the visitor, he may rest perfectly contented that 
when he goes off on any of these trips he will always be 
back *' on time," both for meals and trains. 



CHAPTER VI 

HOW TO SPEND TWO TO FIVE DAYS AT EL TOVAR 

Suggestions for Two Days. Suppose the visitor to the 
Canyon arrives in the morning on an early train and must 
leave the next night; how can he best fill in his time? 

He should take either the trip to Grand View (see special 
chapter), or the two short drives, viz., to Hopi and Yavapai 
Points (see the preceding chapter). Either the Grand 
View trip or these two trips will comfortably fill up the 
first day. The second day he should descend the Bright 
Angel Trail. I do not deem it wise for a visitor to spend 
his first day (which, after all, is only the part of a day) on the 
trail trip, but, if he intends to descend, he should give 
the whole of his second day to it. If the 8:30 start is made, 
he can go to the river and back in time for dinner, and 
have ample time before the departure of the evening train. 
If, however, he should not care to make the trail trip, then 
one day can be spent in going to Grand View, and the other 
to the two points, Hopi and Yavapai. 

Suggestions for Three Days. If the visitor has three days 
at his disposal, let him spend the first day in going out 
to Yavapai and Hopi Points. This gives him a general 
outlook over the Canyon from these near by salient points 
on the rim. The second day, with these rim views in mind, 
he descends the trail to the river, and thus adds knowledge 
of the interior scenic effects to those already received on 
the rim. The third day, he can drive out to Grand View, 
enjoy the eastern end of the Canyon, and return to El 
Tovar, ready to leave after dinner on the evening train, 



TWO TO FIVE DAYS AT EL TOVAR 45 

and able to assert with truthfulness that he has gained 
a reasonably comprehensive view of the Grand Canyon. 

In all the expenditures of time here mentioned, no notice 
has yet been taken of a most interesting and historic feature 
which easily can be visited on foot from El Tovar in the 
short space of half an hour. 

In chapter three, Mallery Grotto is fully described, and he 
is wise who gives himself the pleasure of a few minutes spent 
in looking at these crude and historic specimens of abo- 
riginal art. 

Suggestions for Four or Five Days. If one can spend 
four or five days, and wishes to fill every hour with travel 
and sightseeing, he can take one or all of the day's ex- 
periences already suggested. 

To the Boucher Trail. Then let him plan either to 
ride a saddle animal or be driven to the head of the 
Boucher Trail (about six thousand five hundred feet 
elevation) through the forest to the west, by Rowe's Well, 
a distance of ten miles. At present the road is new and 
somewhat rough, but it can be made in two hours. If 
one has been driven to this point, the harness is removed 
from the horses, saddles substituted, and the descent of 
the trail begun. 

Dripping Spring. It is a little over a mile to Dripping 
Spring, which is at about five thousand four hundred and 
ninety-three feet elevation. The trail descends easily 
at first through a beautiful wooded canyoncito, where it 
is completely hidden and embowered in foliage. Then it 
winds its way down and around the cherty limestone, to the 
top of the cross-bedded sandstone, down which zigzags 
and steps lead one to the spring itself. This is located in 
a picturesque spot. Picture a great, overhanging wall at 
the very bottom of the cross-bedded sandstone, from twelve 
to fifty and more feet high, the recess being perhaps thirty 
or forty feet back. From the rocks above, with a drop of 
about fifteen feet, seeping through a green cluster of 
maidenhair ferns, the pure water of the spring drips into 



46 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

a stone trough placed to receive it. Day and night, winter 
and summer, fair weather or foul, it seldom varies its quick, 
tinkling, merry drip, drip into the receptacle below. Below 
the trough, a natural cavity in the rocks receives the over- 
flow, and here, within the pool and on its edges, aquatic 
and other plants grow in profusion, while some recently 
acquired goldfish swim to and fro among beds of moss and 
floating lilies. By the side of this ever-flowing water, 
Louis Boucher, the builder of the trail, has his simple 
home camp. Two tents, placed end to end, rest against 
the wall, well protected from sun and rain, though the 
morning's sun shines in freely. Below is a corral for 
horses, mules and burros used on the trail. 

Hermit Basin. Here, after lunch, one continues on his 
trail trip to the river. For three miles the trail winds in 
and out of the recesses, on the easily rolling ground of the 
plateau. There are no sharp descents. For about half 
a mile the trail is in Dripping Spring Amphitheatre, an 
alcove on the edge of Hermit Basin, so named by Louis P. 
Brown, a miner and prospector, who, in the early eighties, 
made this basin his home while engaged in prospecting 
operations in the Canyon. 

As the plateau passes across the basin and out to the 
open Canyon, the scene becomes more and more enlarged, 
until it is stupendous and vast beyond description. Down 
on the right, Hermit Creek cuts its narrow path deeper 
and deeper, until it reaches the red-wall limestone, where 
it makes a narrow gorge, that, from the elevation of the 
plateau, seems more like a mere slit in the rock than a gorge. 
Louis Boucher assures me that it is so narrow and deep 
that he has seen stars from its recesses at midday, and I 
record his statement in spite of the fact that eminent as- 
tronomers have told me that such a sight is impossible. 
Anyhow, the effect of that stupendous descent is such as to 
almost make the rider on the trail see stars, though there 
is no danger to any one with ordinarily steady nerves. 
Two miles out, one sees the continuation of one arm of 



TWO TO FIVE DAYS AT EL TOVAR 47 

the Bright Angel fault in the shattered strata of the red 
sandstones, some masses of which are toppled over at the 
base of Pima Point. It was this fault that made the talus 
slopes, down which the Boucher Trail descends, and also 
the great eroded recess of Hermit Basin. 

Columbus Point. The nose of the plateau on which we 
have been travelling, now directly under Yuma Point, 
is named Columbus Point, and from this spot, where several 
noted American painters have made paintings destined 
to become memorable, the outlook in three directions, 
east, west, and north, forms one of the noblest of all the 
panoramas of the Canyon my eye has ever rested upon, 
Shiva's Temple is almost directly opposite, as we look 
towards the northeast. Stretches of river are exposed 
east and west, where raging rapids send up their roar to us. 
Overhead is a great castellated structure, surmounted by 
a lesser building, with round tower, embattlements and 
all the architectural accompaniments of an elaborately 
equipped castle of ancient Europe. To attempt to describe 
all the objects seen in the heart of the Canyon is needless. 
Suffice it to say that the panorama takes in every tower, 
temple, butte and structure, seen from Point Sublime 
on the north side; or any of the points on the south side, 
from Havasupai Point on the east, to Yavapai Point on 
the west; and includes Wotan's Throne, Vishnu Temple, 
and the Wall of the Little Colorado to the far-away east. 

On the Lower Trail to the River. The trail then winds 
under Yuma Point, and zigzags down the thinner strata 
of the red sandstones on to the red-wall limestones, where 
it affords more extended views on a lower plateau of lesser 
area, the rocky butte on the end of which is named Bunker 
Hill Monument. From this plateau another rapid descent 
is made through masses of rock to the bed of Long (or 
Boucher) Creek, where, at the distance of about a mile 
from the river, is located the lower camp. Here Boucher 
has planted a garden of all kinds of vegetables, and with 
seventy-five trees, which include oranges, figs, peaches, 



48 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

pears, apricots, apples, nectarines, an J pomegranates; 
he boasts of his melons, canteloupes, beets, onions, toma- 
toes, chile, carrots, cucumbers, parsnips, etc., and I can 
vouch for the sweet and refreshing qualities of his melons. 
Tomatoes, ripe and green, covered his vines in January, 
and he has them throughout the year. It needs no comment 
to explain how delightful fresh vegetables are, after one 
has made this trail trip, especially if it should be in the 
hot summer months. 

Good and comfortable beds and other camp accommo- 
dations are provided here, so that a stop may be made 
over night. In the morning, the river is visited, and the 
return trip accomplished in easy time for dinner. The 
distance from rim to river has not been measured, but it 
is estimated to be from eight to ten miles. 

Boucher also has a copper mine, rich in mineral. He 
claims that it is a continuation of the copper ledge of 
Bass's mine, and is possibly the same deposit that continues 
east to the Canyon Copper Company's mine on the Berry 
Trail. 

The Boucher Trail is the last of all the trails to be con- 
structed. Mr. Boucher received his permit from the Secre- 
tary of the Interior some time in 1902, and in 1905 the 
trail was practically completed. 



CHAPTER VII 

HOW FULLY TO SEE AND KNOW THE GRAND CANYON REGION 

Advantages of Camping Trips. The suggestions in this 
chapter are mainly for the strenuous and strong, though 
this by no means excludes members of the gentle sex. 
Many women and girls — some who have never before 
been on horseback — have made these extended trips, 
even those that have required weeks of rough camping. 
For detailed particulars of the scenery, those interested 
are referred to the various chapters devoted to the respective 
trails. The transportation department at El Tovar is 
under the control of competent men, and is thoroughly 
well equipped to send visitors on prolonged camping trips 
with everything needed for a week, a month, or six months. 
It is merely a question of time and meeting the necessary 
expense. On the occasion of my last visit to El Tovar, 
a small party of both sexes was equipped and started out 
for a trip to last fully three weeks. Reference to the chap- 
ter entitled " Across the Grand Canyon to Point Sublime," 
mainly written as her diary by an elderly lady, will give 
the ideas of a woman who had next to no previous ex- 
perience of the hardships, as well as the immediate enjoy- 
ments of such a trip. But no one can estimate the continual 
source of delight and pleasure the memories of such a trip 
are to those who have resolutely faced and overcome the 
merely temporary discomforts entailed. The experiences 
with the burros, the surprises of the scenery, the exquisite de- 
light of the perfect rest and dreamless sleep one enjoys, 
after the first few nights of novelty are worn off, the satis- 



50 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

faction of seeing and knowing much of the most sublime 
piece of natural scenery on earth, are compensations and 
satisfactions enough. 

Down Bright Angel Trail. After one has gained the 
slight knowledge of the Canyon afforded by the easier 
trips described, let him plan to make the following as " a 
starter " in his more thorough investigation. With a good 
guide, pack animals carrying a full equipment of sleeping, 
cooking and eating necessities, plenty of water in canteens, 
one or two extra canvasses in case of rain, a note-book, 
and pencils or fountain pen, a compass and barometer for 
altitude readings, and the United States Geological 
Survey maps of the region, one is ready to make a " good 
start." Descend the Bright Angel Trail to the river, study 
the formations all the way down; get a clear idea of the 
relative positions of the strata, and learn to detect them by 
the individualistic appearances of wall, temple, butte, etc.; 
and examine the so-called cliff-dwellings hidden away in 
the Tonto sandstones before descending on the gneiss 
into Pipe Creek Canyon. Arrived at the river, spend a day 
there investigating the peculiar foldings and tiltings of 
the Algonkian strata. Sleep, as did Powell and his men 
for weeks, on the sands of the Colorado River, with the 
noise of the rapids ever in your ears. Breathe the pure 
air, and watch the solemn march ot the stars. 

Have you ever noticed how delicious the most ordinary 
food is, when cooked and eaten in the open air, after a day 
of reasonable exertion ? Climbing, riding, and walking 
expand the lungs, and this means the absorption of im- 
measurably more oxygen. Weak stomachs, fickle appetites, 
dyspeptic symptoms, insomnia, blue devils and a score 
of the ills that human flesh is heir to, disappear before the 
floods of sunshine and oxygen that bathe the body, inside 
and out, of the man or woman who gladly accepts the 
outdoor life, even though only for a short time, in this 
Canyon region. 

These philosophizings are aroused by the smell of bacon 



HOW TO SEE THE GRAND CANYON 51 

frying over the camp-fire, or the crack of a fine, mealy 
Arizona potato, roasting in the ashes, or a whifF from 
the coffee-pot, just about to topple over on the burning 
sticks. The fire is made of driftwood washed down possibly 
from some storm-swept region where a Mormon dwells 
with his numerous family; or, mayhap, from a forest where 
the elk of Wyoming still roam. 

How real life in this Canyon now begins to be. It is 
opening up its secrets to us as we thus come into it. We are 
learning to love it, therefore it shows its heart to us. It no 
longer is a " thing " to be looked at; it is a real something, 
an individuality to love, to listen to, to question, to honor. 

On the Tonto Trail. We are now ready to go over the 
old Tonto Trail — the trail made centuries ago by moun- 
tain sheep, small bands of which are still to be found in 
the remoter corners of the Canyon — then followed by 
the Indians, whose moccasined feet made less impression 
upon it than did the hoofs of the sheep. And in the two 
or three decades just passed, a few white men trod it. Per- 
haps Powell, or some of his men, or Stanton, walked where 
we now walk, or ride, and surely some of those early mining 
prospectors of the Canyon — Ashurst, McClure, Marshall, 
Hance, Boucher, Berry, Brashear, — once went this way. 

In and out of the recesses of the much carved walls, up 
and down the wavy ridges of the plateaus, sometimes de- 
scending into deep side gorges, we ride, our guide leading 
the way to the Grand View Trail, and our pack-mules and 
burros following, while we occupy the rear of the procession. 
We stop for noon lunch in one of the side canyons where 
is a spring of clear water. We take off the packs from the 
animals, and let them nibble away at the rich grama and 
galUnas grasses that flourish here after the summer rains. 

Comfortable and contented after our meal, we lie on our 
backs under the shelter of a juniper or a friendly cotton- 
wood, or in the shade of an immense block fallen from some 
cracked wall above. Already we are becoming familiar 
with the strata, and can call each one by name. The red- 



52 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

wall limestone, we find, is known to the guides and miners 
as the " blue lime," owing to the fact that its capping 
stratum, where exposed, has a light blue color. 

Cottonwood Creek and Horseshoe Mesa. In due time we 
reach Cottonwood Creek, which flows down to the left 
(west) of Grand View Point. Here the plateau opens out, 
but we leave it in order to follow the creek, on the Berry 
Trail down to the river. Perhaps we spend the night here, 
and in the morning ascend to the mesa on to the Tonto, 
then up the well-engineered trail to Grand View Cave 
(see description in chapter on Grand View Trail). Sending 
the pack animals on from here, we wait until some one 
descends from the near-by Horseshoe Mesa, where the 
camp of the Canyon Copper Company is located, with 
candles ready to conduct us through the wonders of this 
natural excavation in the red-wall limestone. This occupies 
the whole of our afternoon, so that when we reach the 
mesa, we are ready to partake of the substantial and cheery 
fare of the Camp, and then unroll our blankets, lie down, 
listen to the chat of the miners and guide, hear them re- 
count some of their thrilling and exciting experiences, enjoy 
their singing of old-time melodies, with a peculiar western 
flavor to them, and then roll over to dreamless sleep. 

Copper Mines. Half a day can be well spent on the 
morrow in the mines, and one is surprised to find here 
over half a mile of tunnels and shafts, with workings on 
seven levels, and ore so rich that under usual conditions 
it pays to mine, sort, pack on mules three miles or a little 
more to the rim, place in wagons, haul some fifteen or 
twenty miles to Apex, load on railway cars and ship — 
paying full freight, of course — about six hundred and 
eighty miles to El Paso, Texas, where it is " milled," 
and the copper, silver and gold extracted. These various 
processes are expensive. It costs to buy grain in Flagstaff^, 
or Phoenix, and pay freight on it to Apex, and then haul 
it to the head of the trail, and thence to the stables on 
the plateau near the mine. Hay, too, has to come just 



HOW TO SEE THE GRAND CANYON 53 

as far. Every pound of the provisions used by the men has 
to be hauled in similar fashion over railroad, wagon road 
and canyon trail. Every pick, shovel, piece of iron or wood- 
work, every pound of powder, dynamite and fuse, every 
box of candles has to pay toll in like fashion, before it 
can be used in the mine. So we are not surprised to learn 
that the ore is rich, the first thousand tons mined going 
as high as thirty per cent, in copper, with several ounces 
of silver to the ton, and small but appreciable and valuable 
traces of gold. (At the time of this writing, the mines 
are temporarily shut down.) 

To the Old Hance Trail. The mouth of the mine enters 
the face of the cliff to the east, and overlooks the trail 
down which we descend into Hance Creek, where the old 
Hance Trail to the river used to be. It is an old friend, for 
we have been down it more times than once, and can recall 
every feature. We rest awhile here, in order to go down to 
the place where the side canyon through which the creek 
flows " narrows up." We pass through, and on the other 
side stand before the shattered Tonto sandstones that 
Thomas Moran, years ago, named the Temple of Set, 
and even further on, where we used to leave the horses 
and climb down a boulder, and up the face of the cliff, and 
down the rope ladder over the archaean rocks — here a 
crystalline mica schist — and so on, all the way to the 
river. So another day passes, and we stretch out our 
blankets, and sleep on the very ledge on which we bunked 
years and years ago, when we made our first descent and 
camp in this canyon. 

Red Canyon Trail. The next day we are ready to con- 
tinue on to the west. We climb out of Hance Canyon, and 
cross the ridge into Mineral Canyon, ascend again, cross 
another ridge, and find ourselves in that wonderland of 
the geologist, the Red Canyon Trail. 

What do I mean by the Wonderland of the Geologist ? 
Ask of these tilted strata of red rock, that give the canyon its 
name, that the men wise in rocks call the non-conformable 



54 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Algonkian strata! Ask of the folds, or flexures, in the 
strata, which the untrained eye can readily discern! 

The Algonkian. This is one of the spots that all geolo- 
gists — from every part of the civilized vv^orld — aim for. 
They know it is one of the rare things of the known world, 
and they come here to see it. So make yourself as wise 
as you can while you are here and have the chance. Read 
Dr. Walcott's monograph from the fourteenth report of 
the United States Geological Survey, Volume No. 2, en- 
titled " Pre-Cambrian Igneous Rocks of the Unkar 
Terrane." Then read Major Powell's luminous earlier 
descriptions of these rocks in his " Explorations of the 
Colorado River of the West." Learn from their own 
words what these geological masters say of these wonderful 
five hundred feet thick remnants of twelve thousand feet 
of strata that were once piled here above the archaean 
rocks. Imagine over two miles of strata thrust up into 
the air, and then pay strict attention as the scientists reason 
out their conclusions as to the how, why, where, and 
whence of the eleven thousand five hundred feet of washed 
away strata. 

Asbestos Mines. If your guide knows how to compass 
it, cross the river here at the foot of the Red Canyon Trail, 
and visit the asbestos mines of the Hance Asbestos Mining 
Company of New York. Try to comprehend what as- 
bestos is; how it is formed. See where it is located in these 
much burnt and much twisted strata. 

If possible, go up and down the river, and see where 
the Inner Gorge — the granite or gneiss — really begins. 
It is not so very far away. 

Then, when you are ready, watch the guide adjust the 
much-lightened pack, for the supply of " grub " is getting 
low; perhaps assist him swing the kyacks on the pack- 
saddle, put on the canvas covering and throw the " dia- 
mond hitch," and then saddle your own horse — for by 
now you will have begun to feel some confidence and pride 
in doing things that the " tenderfoot " generally leaves to 



HOW TO SEE THE GRAND CANYON 55 

the guide — and soon you are climbing up the trail on 
your way to the rim. As soon as you are on " top," you 
" push on " the pack animals and " hit the trail hard " by 
way of Hance's Ranch, now owned by Martin Buggel, to 
Grand View, and over the familiar road back to El Tovar. 

Eastern Points. Or, before returning, one day or several 
more days can be spent in visiting the salient promontories 
— Moran, Zuni, Papago, Pinal and Lipan Points — and 
then descending the most eastern trail of the Grand Canyon, 
known as the Tanner-French Trail. 

Imagine the gain after such a trip. Count up the store 
of knowledge acquired; the health, vim, vigor added to 
one's store; the capacity for energetic life developed; 
the experiences accumulated; the hardships laughed at 
and overcome; and then tell me whether any similar out- 
lay of cash elsewhere can produce equal benefits in results. 

This is but one of many such trips which I will now 
briefly and succinctly name, each one of which is different 
from every other one. 

To Havasu Canyon. One, two, or three weeks (or 
more) can profitably be spent in going westward (twenty- 
five miles) over the Topocobya Road to the head of the 
Topocobya Trail into Havasu (Cataract) Canyon. This 
is a drive of forty miles. Camp over night there, and then 
descend in the cool of the morning down either arm of this 
stupendous cHfF (see chapter on Havasu Canyon) to Topo- 
cobya Spring, and on down the wash into Havasu Canyon, 
fifteen miles or so to the Havasupai village. 

Camp near, or in, one of the fields of the Indians, where 
good alfalfa can be purchased for the animals and fresh 
vegetables and fruit (in season) for one's own use. If 
you are not too squeamish to see aboriginal man in his 
primitive dirt, study him in his home. Try to learn to 
look at things from his standpoint. If possible, witness one 
of his dances — a religious ceremony — and arrange to 
enter his primitive toholwoh or sweat-house, where he will 
give you a most effective and powerful Russo-Turkish 



56 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

bath. Swim in Havasu Creek to your heart's content, 
several times a d-ay. CHmb to the old fort, where the Hava- 
supais used to retire to defend themselves when pressed 
too closely by their hereditary foes, the Apaches. Listen 
to the stories, the legends, the myths about the stone figures 
your eye cannot fail to see soon after you reach the village, 
which command the widest part of the Canyon, where 
the Indians live, and which are called by them Hue-pu- 
keh-eh and Hue-gli-i-wa. Get one of the story-tellers 
to recite to you the deeds of Tochopa, their good god, and 
Hokomata, their bad god, and ask them for the wonder- 
fully fascinating legend of the mother of their tribe — the 
daughter of Tochopa, from whom the whole human race 
descended. Ask one of the old men to tell you the stories 
of some of their conflicts with the Apaches, and why To- 
chopa placed the Hue-gli-i-wa in so prominent and salient 
a position. If you desire something of a different nature, 
engage some of the younger men to get up a horse race. 
The wise and judicious expenditure of a few dollars will 
generally produce the desired effect. 

Then, when you are ready to travel again, get a Hava- 
supai to guide you — no one else can — up to the fascinating 
spring called Pack-a-tha-true-ye-ba, or to some of their 
side canyons where cliff-dwellings, corn-storage houses 
and pictographs abound. 

Bridal Veil Falls. On your return, descend to Bridal 
Veil Falls, and see where a capitalist spent many thou- 
sands of dollars in unnecessary work because he had been 
deluded into the belief that platinum existed here. Then 
forget men and their mad search for gold, and stand rever- 
ent before a secret shrine of beauty incomparable — this 
exquisite fall in its majestic setting.. A day or more 
can be well spent here, and yet not exhaust the delight of 
this one fall. There are four ways of approach to it from 
the village above. Go over them all, as each has its own 
peculiar charm. Then strike off down the Canyon to 
Mooney Falls, and hear the story, as 3'ou cross and recross 



HOW TO SEE THE GRAND CANYON 57 

Havasu Creek, of the poor miner who was killed here and 
from whom the fall obtains its name. And finally, follow 
the winding of the pellucid stream until it is ejected through 
a narrow passageway into the turbulent Colorado. 

Cushing's Story of the Havasupais. On returning from 
the Havasupai village, come out by the Wallapai Trail 
or ascend the steep cleft of the Hopi Trail. Both ought 
to be seen and gone over, in order to know something 
of the engineering skill of these Blue Water Indians. And 
if you can get hold of it, read Frank Hamilton Cushing's 
delightful account (in Volume 50 of the Atlantic Monthly) 
of his trip from Zuni and down the Hopi Trail to the vil- 
lage you have just left. Also, if you care to read more 
ancient history still, get Lieutenant Ives's fascinating 
report of his trip into this Canyon (published by the War 
Department) and, even earlier still, the diary of Padre 
Garces (see chapter on Garces),the man who camped with 
the ancestors of these hospitable Indians, while Jefferson, 
Adams, Washington and Hancock were defying the British 
and preparing to launch the Declaration of Independence. 

To Powell Plateau and Point Sublime. Another two 
or three weeks' delightful experience can be gained by 
arranging to go down Bass's Trail, cross on his cable 
ferry, go up the Shinumo Trail to Powell Plateau, watch 
the herds of protected and preserved deer and antelope, 
look longingly upon the succulent and delicious pine-hens 
that live upon pinion nuts and roost in the branches of the 
pine trees of the Kaibab forest, and pleasantly saunter 
along out to Point Sublime. The guide will point out to 
you — or he is no guide — the spot where in 1873 Thomas 
Moran sat with Major Powell, and afterwards painted the 
memorable canvas of the Grand Canyon which now hangs in 
the Capitol at Washington. Sleep out on Point Sublime 
and remember Dutton, whose beautifully polished de- 
scriptions of the Canyon, written here, have thrilled thou- 
sands of civilized and cultured people. Then push on 
west to the Greenland Spring, over Walhalla Plateau to 



58 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Naji Point, whence you can look down into Chuar 
Creek, where Dr. Walcott, with three Mormons, spent a 
snowy winter studying the Algonkian strata. 

An Adventurous Trip. Or, better still, if you are 
ready for whatever adventure may befall on a seldom 
used trail, descend Dr. Walcott's old trail to the river, 
and there build a raft (it is perfectly feasible and not too 
dangerous, unless the river be at the flood) and cross to 
the other side, letting your horses swim over. Then come 
out by way of the Tanner Trail, after riding up and down 
the wide beach and sandy stretches of this part of the 
Canyon as far north and east as the Little Colorado. 
Indeed you may walk up the boxed-in canyon of this 
side gorge • — where few white men have trod — on your 
return. 

Over the Desert to Hopiland. A fascinating trip, not 
however connected with the Canyon, is suggested in 
the chapter on " An Historical Trail across the Grand 
Canyon Country." Arrange to go in mid-August, even 
though it be hot weather, if you have grown a little tough- 
ened, for then you will reach Hopiland at the time of the 
Snake Dance, which thrilling ceremony I have briefly, 
but truthfully, described in a special chapter. 

Many such trips can be planned for those who really 
wish them, and he who is wise enough to take them will 
probably improve in health, gain a wonderful knowledge 
of one of the most fascinating regions of the earth, and fill 
the memory with treasures that nothing can destroy. 



CHAPTER VIII 

FROM EL TOVAR DOWN THE BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL 

The Start. Leaving EI Tovar promptly at 8.30 a. m., 
fortified with a good breakfast, and suitably clothed, the 
trail party in a few minutes reaches the head of Bright 
Angel Trail near Bright Angel Camp. For_three-quarters I 
of a mile this trail descends, zigzagging back and forth until ! 
the top of the cross-bedded sandstone is reached. 

Faulting in the Sandstones. Here the visitor should 
not fail to observe the faulting in the sandstone, there being 
a difference in the two sides of about two hundred feet. 
Without this fault there would have been no trail, for to 
the lifting up, or dropping down of the strata, is due their 
shattered condition, which alone makes trail-building 
possible. When about a mile down, the separation line 
between the cross-bedded sandstone and the upper red 
sandstone is clearly revealed to the left of the trail. 

By this time all timidity has vanished, and you implicitly 
trust both mule and trail, even when going around that 
narrow ledge known as Cape Horn. 

Now, immediately before us, the majestic pile known as 
the Battleship presents itself with new power. The ship 
itself is composed of the red sandstone. The base upon 
which it rests is the red-wall limestone. 

A few feet further, and the cross-bedded sandstone may 
be seen far below on the right, out of plumb with the same 
mass on the left, to which it belongs, clearly showing that 
some convulsion of nature has either thrust the mass on 
the left up, or forced the mass on the right down. 

From this spot a fine view is had of the red-wall lime- 



60 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

stone below and the Indian Garden; and, far below, at 
the end of Pipe Creek, the peculiar folding of the Algonkian 
strata. This folding is also to be seen on the other side of 
the river in the same rocks. 

Trees, Flowers and Birds. While descending the first 
mile of trail, one sees plenty of flowers and shrubs, and 
many Douglas spruces. These do not exist on the rim, 
and, strange to say, the pines which abound there are 
never found on the trail. One will generally hear the sweet 
descending " pipe " of the canyon wren, and the harsh 
scolding of the blue-winged pinion jay. Hawks, owls, 
mocking-birds and robins are often seen. Butterflies, moths, 
and humming-birds wing their way to and fro and give 
a delicate touch of life to the stern rocky features. Time 
was when the visitor at El Tovar who went down the trail 
to the river might have seen mountain sheep, bear, deer, 
antelopes and coyotes. 

Jacob's Ladder. When the " blue lime " — the top of 
the red-wall limestone — is reached, one may study a fine 
piece of real canyon trail-making, locally called Jacob's 
Ladder. Here steps have been cut in the slippery and 
solid rocks, in some places built up with timbers, and thus 
made perfectly safe. It is customary for everybody to dis- 
mount here, so as to lighten the load. The well-trained 
saddle mules of El Tovar stables go up and down this part 
of the trail without hesitation. 

Red-Wall Limestone. Standing on the summit of the 
red-wall limestone, we are again forcefully reminded that 
it is the most prominent member of the Grand Canyon 
strata. Its insistent mass is a thousand feet in thick- 
ness. The face of this wall, close before us, is carved 
into numerous alcoves, and as we near its base, we observe 
to the right a vast double-cornered recess known as Angel 
Alcove. From here it is interesting to look up to the rim 
and observe the peculiar and varied contour of the rnany 
pinnacles cut by wind and storm out of the cherty lime- 
stone. 




UtOKi.M. i',.\.-l i-KuAl lliiPl (rOWE) point. 
Page 41 




Cofyiialit by 1-icd Harvey. 
THE devil's corkscrew, liRlGHT ANGEL TRAIL. 
rage 6s 



DOWN THE BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL 61 

Buddha and Manu Temples. From this point, also, the 
first good view, from below the rim, of Buddha Temple 
(seven thousand two hundred and eighteen feet) is ob- 
tained. It is to the left of Bright Angel Creek. Now look 
carefully at the ridge that leads the eye from Buddha 
Temple to Bright Angel Creek. It appears to be a portion 
of the main wall of the Kaibab Plateau. In reality it 
is three miles from the Kaibab wall, and, under suitable con- 
ditions, may be seen as a massive temple, which has been 
named Manu Temple (seven thousand one hundred and 
ninety-two feet), after the great law-giver of the Hindoos. 

Indian Garden and Cheops Pyramid. At the base of the 
red-wall limestone, the trail opens up a little, and permits 
easier breathing by the tyro on horseback; from now on to 
Indian Garden (three thousand eight hundred and seventy- 
six feet) we ride in a boulder bed, where large blocks of 
rock of every conceivable shape lie as they fell from the 
strata above. Small shrubs and plants abound, and tiny 
lizards and inquisitive swifts dart to and fro. Nearer to us 
is Cheops Pyramid (five thousand three hundred and fifty 
feet), a massive monument, though less ornately carved 
than Buddha. 

Isis and Shiva Temples. Above it and farther to the left, 
is Isis Temple (seven thousand and twenty-eight feet), the 
cap of which, at this angle, presents the appearance of 
two acorn-like structures resting upon their cups, the 
taller of which is carved out of the cross-bedded sand- 
stone. It is the eastern supporter of Shiva Temple (seven 
thousand six hundred and fifty feet), of which Captain 
Dutton, who named it, wrote eloquently and vividly. 

Brahma and Zoroaster Temples. Now turn the eye 
away from Shiva, across to the east of Bright Angel Creek. 
There, outlined against the sky, are two noble-profiled 
buttes. The rear one is Brahma Temple (seven thousand 
five hundred and fifty-four feet), named after the first 
of the Hindoo triad, the Supreme Creator. The smaller 
butte, an angular mass of solid, unrelieved rock, sloping in a 



62 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

peculiarly oblique fashion, is Zoroaster Temple (seven 
thousand one hundred and thirty feet), thus adding to 
the Hindoo pantheon a fane for the founder of the religion 
of the Irano-Persians. 

Deva Temple, Obi, and Komo Points. Behind Brahma 
can be seen, when at the right angle, a flat-topped detached 
mass (seven thousand three hundred and forty-four feet) 
named Deva Temple. Behind and above it are two points, 
Obi (eight thousand feet) to the right, and Komo, about 
the same height, to the left. These are the salient points 
on Walhalla Plateau, overlooking the Ottoman Amphi- 
theatre, the chief temples of which I have already named. 
Indian Garden. Passing now through the fertile Indian 
Garden, Angel Plateau is reached. The spring at Indian 
Garden is large enough to irrigate a small tract of ground. 
Experience has demonstrated that not only can vege- 
tables of every kind be grown here, but all kinds of fruits, 
even oranges, lemons and grapefruit. For two miles after 
leaving the Garden, we ride over a fairly level plateau to 
its edge, where it overlooks the Granite Gorge. Here, 
standing on the Tonto sandstone (three thousand seven 
hundred and eight feet), we look down into the dark re- 
cesses of the inner gorge, and picture the events described 
by Major Powell, when he and his brave band of intrepid 
explorers passed through. 

O'Neill Butte. Now looking back to the rim at Yaki 
Point, we see beneath it, and corresponding to the Battle- 
ship, an imposing structure. It has been named O'Neill 
Butte, in honor of " Bucky " O'Neill, one of Roosevelt's 
Rough Riders, who was slain during the heroic charge at 
San Juan Hill. He it was who interested Eastern capital- 
ists in the Anita Mine, and was therefore indirectly re- 
sponsible for the building of the Grand Canyon Railwa}'. 
Pipe Creek. Those who wish to go to the river now re- 
trace a portion of the way to the Indian Garden, and then 
turn off" eastward by the old-time Indian corn-storage 
houses. Here one obtains a fine view of the wild chaos 



DOWN THE BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL 63 

of metamorphosed rocks of Pipe Creek. It is a veritable 
Pluto's workshop, where the rocks are twisted, burned, 
and tortured out of all semblance to their original condi- 
tion. They are made into cruel and black jagged ridges, 
which seem eager to tear and rend you. 

Falls of Willow Creek. In these forbidding rocks 
the Devil's Corkscrew Trail has been cut, winding and 
twisting down, down, twelve hundred feet, passing by a 
split in the rocks where the waters of Willow Creek make 
a waterfall of over two hundred feet. 

The Colorado River. At last the Colorado River is 
reached, and we are but two thousand four hundred and 
thirty-six feet above the sea. El Tovar, above, is six thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-six feet, and we have thus descended 
four thousand four hundred and thirty feet, nearly a mile, 
from rim to river. And what a river it is! No one 
can form any idea of it, unless he stands on the very brink, 
almost deafened by the sound of its sullen roar and turbu- 
lent rapids. It is hungry, insatiable, murderous, cruel. 
Many a foolish mortal has had the breath dashed from his 
body by these powerful waves. Those who wish to cross 
to the other side can defy danger in the cable crossing, 
but only a skilled boatman should attempt to row across. 

Colorado Salmon. > Fish are caught in the river here at 
times. The chief variety is a scale-bearing fish, of silvery 
appearance, commonly known to the local dwellers as 
Colorado sajmon. Specimens have been caught two feet 
eight inches in length, and sixteen inches in circumference, 
and a fortunate fisherman brought one up to El Tovar, 
which was nearly three feet in length. 

Camping at the River. It is a delightful experience to 
remain over night and sleep on the river sand, especially 
if the moon be at its full. Then one sees great walking 
shadows — moving, living, palpable entities. Towers and 
buttes and temples take on new qualities under the softer 
luminary of the night. 

Here, too, one gets to know the Canyon in a new phase. 



64 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

He is in the trough between two ranges of mountains. To 
the north and to the south are towering peaks. You forget 
that you have ridden down, down, to reach this spot. 
You are in a new country. A majestic range of glorious 
peaks soars away above you to the north. Now, by merely 
turning in the other direction, you see another and entirely 
different range, with peaks, canyons, ravines, gorges, 
points, ridges all its own. 

The Return to El Tovar. Riding back to El Tovar, with 
thoughts like these, the visitor imagines himself riding 
to a City Celestial. He reaches the plateau, studies for a 
while the unique coloring of the Algonkian strata just 
above the Granite Gorge, and sees where the faulting has 
raised them above the Tonto sandstones. Then, steadily 
looking upward, he rides forward, climbing slowly but 
surely to the peaks above. Tired though he is, he feels 
a constant thrill of satisfaction as he rises higher and 
higher, and when, at last, his animal lifts him to the level 
of El Tovar, and he stands once more in his room at the 
hotel, he feels an exaltation vouchsafed only to those who 
have dared and done an unusual thing. And this the 
Canyon is! No matter how often the trip is made, the 
interest of it never tires; the wonder of it never grows less. 



CHAPTER IX 

TO GRAND VIEW AND DOWN THE GRAND VIEW TRAIL 

To Grand View. One may go by regular stages or by 
private conveyance from El Tovar to Grand View. The 
distance to the hotel is fourteen miles. The drive is through 
the glens and winding roads of the Coconino Forest, with 
junipers, pines, sage-brush, atriplex and the beautifully 
flowered Coivania Mexicana, or mountain mahogany, 
commonly known as the quinine tree, abounding on every 
hand. Though comparatively close to the Canyon, one 
seldom catches a glimpse of it, for the country slopes away 
from the rim. The ride is through a thickly forested 
region of giant pines. 

Varieties of Flowers and Shrubs. During the season 
of flowers one will be surprised at the great diversity pre- 
sented. There are varieties of artemisia or sage-brush, 
antennaria, columbine, the barberry, spiraea, Russian 
thistle, eriophyllous, chrysothamnus, plantago, dandelions, 
lepidium, chaenactic, linum, hosackia, cirsium, astragulus, 
ambrosia, euphorbia, pleustemon, achillea millefolium, 
erodium,or stork's bill, orthocarpous, vilia, solidago, lactuca, 
helianthus, erigeron, brickellia, malvastrum, ptelea or a 
desert hop-tree, polygonum, sphedra, lupines, castilleia, 
lathyrus, verbena and a score of others. I merely name 
those I saw on one day's drive to and from Grand View, so 
that the botanist, amateur or professional, may know the 
rich treat there is in store for him. For, under the peculiar 
climatic conditions here, many of these more common 
plants present singular variations. 



66 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

When about half the distance is passed, the road enters 
Long Jim Canyon, so named after a well-known sheep- 
herder of the early days who used to wander here with his 
sheep. 

Pompey's Pillar and Thor's Hammer. Shortly before 
reaching Grand View Point, the road passes not far from 
the rim, where it curves into a small amphitheatre in which 
are two striking columns of erosion, Pompey's Pillar and 
Thor's Hammer. 

Grand View Hotel. Grand View Hotel (temporarily 
closed at this time) is directly upon the rim, and commands 
a fine outlook over the open portion of the Canyon at 
its very beginning. The log portion of the hotel was built 
by P. D. Berry, — one of the discoverers of the mine 
below and one of the locators of the trail, — the frame 
structure being erected later. Mr. Berry's homestead is 
near by. 

Grand View Point. Grand View Point (elevation seven 
thousand four hundred and ninety-five feet) is about 
a mile from the hotel. It afi^ords the most extensive view 
possible of this part of the Canyon. The highest point, 
too, is at the eastern end of the Canyon, being two hundred 
and eleven feet higher than Zuni Point (seven thousand 
one hundred and fifty-seven feet), one hundred and twenty- 
five feet higher than Pinal Point (seven thousand three 
hundred and seventy feet), and thirty feet higher than 
Navaho Point, all of them salient points to the east. 

Cliff Dwellings. There are a number of clifi^ dwellings 
in this vicinity, which take from half a day to a day to 
visit. The best preserved of these are in the gulches of 
the Coconino Forest, on the rocks of which are also some 
interesting pictographs. There are remains of dwellings 
on Moran's Point, and at various places along the rim of 
the Canyon. A few miles to the east of Grand View Point 
is the junction of the Little Colorado with the Colorado 
River, as it flows out of the Marble Canyon into the Grand 
Canyon. Here, for nearly a score of miles, the strata 



DOWN THE GRAND VIEW TRAIL 67 

have been shattered and carried away, so that the Canyon 
is opened up, as it were, more than in any other place. 
A vast number of pillars of erosion stand revealed in won- 
derful variety. 

It should never be forgotten that the Canyon is so di- 
versified that each point and each trail has its own dis- 
tinctive charms, and he is wise, in the Canyon study, who 
sees it from as many points of vantage as he can. 

The trip from Grand View Hotel to the plateau over- 
looking the Granite Gorge, three thousand five hundred 
feet below, and return, is made in one day. The old Grand 
View Trail leaves the rim about a mile from the hotel, 
winding its way down from one stratum to another, around 
points which command extensive outlooks. 

Grand View Trail. A new trail from Grand View Point, 
one and a half miles north of the hotel, joins the old trail 
about a thousand feet below the rim, and continues to the 
top of what is locally known as the " blue limestone," 
two thousand five hundred feet below the rim, to the 
Horseshoe Mesa, where the Canyon Copper Company 
mine is located. Here also are the bunk-houses and board- 
ing-houses of the miners, the corral for the burros used 
in packing ore to the surface, and several small sleeping 
cottages for travelers. The distance from the rim to the 
camp is three miles on the old trail, and about half a mile 
less by the new trail. To the mouth of the mine is another 
half mile. The trail was begun in June, 1892, and the 
first ore pack-train went over it in February, 1893. In 
190 1 the interests of Berry and his partners were bought 
by the Canyon Copper Company. The distinctive charm 
of the Grand View Trail is the wide and unobstructed 
outlook which one gets here nearly all the way down. 
It is not boxed in. 

Horseshoe Mesa. The start from Grand View Hotel 
is generally made after lunch, so that one arrives at the 
camp of the Canyon Copper Company in time for supper, 
and lodges there over night. After supper, a visit is made 



68 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

to the edge of the Horseshoe Mesa for the sunset view. 
This is one of the more extended views afforded only 
from such a mesa or plateau thrust well out into the heart 
of the Canyon. Up, down, and around, there is scenic 
attraction. The river flows on in the deep Granite Gorge 
below. The best time, too, for seeing and knowing the 
Canyon is at the sunset (or sunrise) hour. Then the shadows 
are long, and the various objects stand out distinctly. 

Grand View Caves. The following morning a visit may 
be made to the limestone caves or the Copper Company's 
mine. The former were discovered in 1897 by the camp 
cook, Joseph Gildner, and are well worthy an extended 
visit. The first cave is some three hundred feet long, and 
varies in height from ten to eighty or ninety feet. The 
second cave has about the same length, but is much higher 
and contains a far more diversified collection of stalactites, 
stalagmites and sheets of calcareous deposits, that hang 
like curtains before the more solid side walls. While ap- 
pearing in the red-wall limestone, the rock of these caves 
is all of a creamy white, thus demonstrating that the for- 
mation itself is white, but that the exposed walls are stained 
by the red washed over them from the strata above. 

Copper Mine. The mine is equally interesting, and to 
those who have never seen the operations of tunneling, 
stouping, driving shafts, winzes and the like, and the re- 
moval of the ore, it is an experience well worth while. (At 
this writing the mine is temporarily closed.) 

A Fine Trip. From the Horseshoe Mesa, one may descend 
to the Lower Plateau on horseback, and then to the river 
on foot. Those who wish a more extended trip should 
ride from the camp, across the old Hance and Mineral 
Canyons into Red Canyon, stay over night at the river, 
at the foot of the Red Canyon Trail, and then return up 
the latter trail to the hotel. The trail is fairly good, and the 
three different side canyons traversed reveal a wonderful 
variety of rock scenery. 

To Hance Canyon. To take this trip, the trail passes 



DOWN THE GRAND VIEW TRAIL 69 

the mine, eastward, down a steep break in the red-wall 
limestone, zigzagging back and forth. Passing under 
overhanging cliffs, it leads down until the plateau is reached, 
where twenty years ago I saw bands of mountain sheep. 
From this plateau, the descent is steep into Hance Canyon, 
and the student of the dynamic forces of nature can here 
see (when about half-way down) a wonderful example 
of the shattering .of the earth's crust. Here the immense 
mass of the " red-wall " has been shaken up, and is now 
rapidly disintegrating, to be washed down by the storms 
of succeeding years into the great river which will ulti- 
mately deposit it in the Gulf of California. 

By and by Vishnu Temple, the grandest of the rocky 
structures, comes into sight, and a little further on one can 
see, at the base of Vishnu, and above the granite, the red 
tilted strata of the Algonkian. 

The descent into Hance Canyon reveals a fine view of 
Ayer Peak, and as we look down we can see the peculiar 
shattering of the Tonto sandstones that Thomas Moran 
named the Temple of Set. It takes but a few minutes to 
ride or walk down to the temple, which is one of the dis- 
tinctive features of the Hance Trail, down which most of 
the early visitors to the Canyon used to come. 

Angel Gate. The ascent is now made on the eastern 
side of Hance Canyon, to the summit of the Tonto sand- 
stones, and from this point a fine view of Angel Gate is 
to be had, its rich reds contrasting agreeably with the grays 
and olives of the Tonto series. 

Mineral and Red Canyons. On the plateaus separating 
Hance Canyon from Mineral Canyon, and the latter from 
Red Canyon, one can see the rare Algonkian strata to fine 
advantage. Numerous faultings and flexurings may be 
observed, and on the last mile before reaching the foot 
of Red Canyon, the trail leads through a great boulder 
bed along the brink of the gorge immediately overhanging 
the river. Camp is made here at night. 

The return ride up the Red Canyon Trail is made en- 



70 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

joyable by the brilliant colorings, the faultings and non- 
conformities of the strata, which are apparent even to 
the most undiscerning layman. Here the conglomerate 
appears above the blue limestone, while ordinarily it 
is found below it. The Algonkian also is largely in evidence. 
Across the river one may see the location of the asbestos 
deposits. 

Moran Point. Grand View Point and the points east 
are all reached from the Grand View Hotel. The first 
of these is Moran Point, seven thousand one hundred and 
fifty-seven feet elevation, five miles east. The trip may 
be made in a vehicle, over a road from which the Canyon 
is not visible until the point is reached; or in the saddle, 
over a trail, the last two miles of which are along the rim. 
This is a unique trail, from the fact that it overlooks Hance 
Creek, and further along, gives commanding outlooks 
down Red Canyon. 

Zuni Point. From Zuni Point, two miles further east, 
a still more extensive view is obtained. The trip to these 
two points may be made in half a day, but many prefer 
to give a full day. 

Navaho Point and Desert View. Ten miles from Grand 
View is Navaho Point, over seven thousand feet elevation. 
The ride thither, after leaving Zuni Point, is through the 
Coconino Forest, without a trail. It is necessarily a saddle 
trip. The outlook is especially attractive, as it presents 
portions of the Painted Desert and the mouth of Marble 
Canyon. 

Comanche Point, seven thousand and seventy-nine 
feet, and Cape Solitude, six thousand one hundred and 
fifty-seven feet, are respectively about seventeen and twenty 
miles east of Grand View, and may be visited in the saddle 
during a camping-out trip of two days. They both com- 
mand views of the amphitheatre where the Colorado River 
makes an almost right angle curve from Marble Canyon 
into the Granite Gorge. The walls are precipitous to 
three thousand five hundred feet below, and the outlook 



DOWN THE GRAND VIEW TRAIL 71 

afforded is about seventy miles in either direction, up and 
down the Canyon. In addition to the Canyon outlook, 
Cape Solitude, which might well be called Desert View, 
commands a fine expanse of the Painted Desert, extending 
a hundred miles in either direction, the colorings of which 
are especially dazzling at sunset. The Little Colorado 
River flows through this desert, one thousand five hundred 
feet below Cape Solitude, in a gorge of about two thousand 
five hundred feet in depth. From the narrow canyon 
of the Little Colorado, the desert rises to the east in three 
successive, gigantic steps of about one thousand feet each. 
This aff^ords a panorama of glorious colorings at sunset, 
while the view in the opposite direction glows best in the 
early hours of dawn. 

To those who wish to camp out, sleeping in the open 
for two or more nights, the trip may be extended to the 
Canyon of the Little Colorado. Li this excursion, one 
gets a fine breath of the desert, a sight of the narrow and 
boxed-in Little Colorado Canyon, and extended desert views, 
passing by Cedar Mountain, one of the few spots where 
fragments of the almost vanished strata of the Permian 
age are still visible. 

Tuba City and Moenkopi. Tuba City, sixty miles east 
of Grand View Hotel (a four days' saddle and camping-out 
trip), is situated in the Painted Desert, and is the head- 
quarters of the Navaho Indians of this locality. Here 
also is located the United States Government Indian School, 
where the children of several tribes are being civilized. 
Two miles away is Moenkopi, a Hopi village, or pueblo, 
of some thirty homes, where this pastoral and home-loving 
people may be found engaged in their quiet agricultural 
pursuits, the women also busy at basket-making and the 
fashioning of pottery. At Tuba City there are many 
Navahos living in their hogans, where the rude silver- 
smiths are at work creating their " arts and crafts " ware, 
and the looms of the blanket-weavers are incessantly busy. 

Crater Mountain, Crater Mountain, thirty-nine miles 



72 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

south of Grand View Hotel, is an extinct volcano with 
one side eroded, leaving a sheer wall five hundred feet high 
in circular form, with a variety of pillars standing high 
above the bottom of the amphitheatre. Its red, yellow 
and black colors combine in a peculiar harmony, and 
novel effects are witnessed at sunset, or by moonlight. 
To enjoy this trip aright, one should drive there, and 
arrange to sleep in the amphitheatre, returning on the 
following day. 

Extinct Volcanoes. Or, if a more extended trip is de- 
sired, one can drive on to the many cinder cones and ex- 
tinct volcanoes that lie to the north and east of the San 
Francisco Mountains, including Sunset Crater and O'Leary 
Peak, and then into Flagstaff. 




Copyright by Detroit Publishing Co. 
ON THE GRAND VIEW TRAIL. 
Page 67 




IN THE GRANITE AT FOOT OF GRAND VIEW TRAIL. 
Page 67 



CHAPTER X 

A NEW " RIM " ROAD AND TRAIL INTO THE SCENIC HEART 
OF THE CANYON 

Large corporate bodies do not always move with the same 
rapidity as do personal enterprises where one man controls. 
Many minds and many interests often have to be consulted. 
When, however, the way is clear, a corporate body, with 
its vast power, can accomplish in a short time what indi- 
viduals could never compass in several successive life- 
times. 

These remarks are exemplified in the action of the 
Santa Fe Railway Company at the Grand Canyon. It 
has taken several years for things to properly shape them- 
selves for adequate development, so that all classes of 
travelers visiting the Grand Canyon could be suitably 
provided for. In hotel accommodations, El Tovar, and 
the equally well conducted but cheaper Bright Angel Camp, 
leave nothing to be desired. In transportation facilities, 
both on the railway and for drives, riding or the descent 
of the trails, provision is made to meet the most exacting 
demands. 

Projected New " Rim " Road and New Trail. These 
imperative necessities met, the Santa Fe officials next 
turned their attention to a further opening up of scenic 
portions of the Canyon, and in furtherance of this wise 
policy are now preparing to build a " rim " road for 
driving, that shall extend for a number of miles west, 
and then deposit the Canyon visitor at the head of a new, 
perfectly engineered and well built trail, which will lead 



74 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

him down to the scenic heart of the Canyon. Though the 
proposed work is not yet begun, I am famihar with the 
route of both road and trail, and in this chapter will give 
the reader a foretaste of the wonders and surprises they 
will afford when completed. 

The Road on the Run to Hermit Basin. Starting from 
El Tovar, the present fine road through the Coconino 
Forest is followed until Hopi Point is reached. Now for 
about nine miles the contour of the rim is closely followed, 
— not too near the brink, but in and out among the trees 
so as to afford most enchanting vistas of the cliffs beyond. 
Mohave Point, with its direct look down the awful preci- 
pices that line Monument Creek, is rounded, and a sweep 
made around due south to the Canyon Curve, and again 
to the northwest. Here there is much to claim the atten- 
tion. First one, then another, of the great interior temples 
seem to command the eye, owing to the diversity of angle 
afforded by the natural contour of the rim, aided by skilful 
engineering of the road builder. At Pima Point, the road 
curves again to the southwest, and for a mile or so skirts 
the rim of Hermit Basin, until it reaches the head of the 
new trail, which is to descend into the Basin itself, by its 
eastern arm, which has a westerly exposure and outlook. 
Hence, if an early start is made, the visitor will have the 
more perfect views and coolness provided by the presence 
of the early morning shadows. 

El Tovar Trail. The trail already has been surveyed 
and most carefully laid out. It descends by easy grades 
and long zigzags down the limestone and cross-bedded 
sandstone, both of which are well shattered and talused, 
to the top of the red sandstone. Here, on wide shelves 
which afford the safest position from which to obtain views 
into the heart of the narrow cleft in which Hermit Creek 
flows, the trail descends by easy steps, and by a long stretch 
of level grade, corresponding to the plateau on the opposite 
side of Hermit Creek, where the Boucher Trail is located. 
For fully a mile and a half this almost level stratum is 



A NEW " RIM " ROAD 75 

followed, the Canyon beyond rapidly opening out and 
revealing its mysterious wonders and marvels, as each 
step brings one nearer to the river. On the left, under 
Yuma Point, an ornately sculptured butte, already seized 
by Moran, Akin, Leigh and other discerning artists 
as a piece de resistance, compels the eye. While enjoying 
it, the end of Hermit Point is reached, and at once the whole 
panorama, on both sides of the river, is opened up to the 
enraptured vision. 

On this point one may linger for hours, if time permits, 
and as the changing lights bring into prominence differ- 
ent mural features, or the moving clouds cast their re- 
vealing shadows on first one, then another, of the temples 
and towers, the reverent beholder feels that he is on holy 
ground. It is indeed superlative in color, in shadow, in 
form, in majesty, in variety and in general effect. 

On the Plateau. From this point an easy series of zig- 
zags in the shattered and well-covered slope of the red- 
v/all limestone leads the trail on to the plateau beneath, 
where it is designed to erect a convenient and commodious 
" half-way house " for rest and refreshments. 

All the way down, the strong scenic features of the 
Canyon remain in evidence, and the arrival on the plateau 
but enhances their glory and beauty, as their outlines are 
projected against the perfect turquoise of the Arizona 
sky. 

Camp at the River. Well rested, the trail is resumed 
over the remainder of the plateau, and then down to the 
river, where the lower cam.p is to be established. Here 
accommodations to meet the most fastidious demands are 
to be provided, both for eating and sleeping. Those who 
wish to sleep in tents or out of doors also will be accom- 
modated. This will be the first adequate provision at the 
river for all travelers, — those who wish hotel luxuries 
and comforts, as well as those who are content with the 
rougher camp equipment, — that the Canyon has yet 
possessed. 



76 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Boating and Fishing on the Colorado. The next day 
opportunity will be aftbrded visitors to remain and spend 
the hours in sightseeing by the river, boating on its waters 
(which in certain places and at proper times of the year is 
perfectly feasible and sate), fishing for silver salmon, or 
studying the geological formations. 

As to fishing, Louis Boucher caught and took to El Tovar 
a silver salmon, two feet eight inches in length, sixteen 
inches in circumference, and weighing eleven and a half 
pounds. He is authority for the statement that another 
similar fish, three feet in length and of corresponding extra 
weight, was also caught here. 

Mountain Sheep. Perchance, also, one may see a band 
of mountain sheep, for now that they are so strictly pre- 
served, a heavy penalty being exacted both by the terri- 
torial and federal governments for killing one, they are 
increasing in numbers. One of their usual haunts for 
years has been in the canyons and ravines north of Shiva 
Temple. It is not unreasonable to anticipate that they will 
often roam into the view of visitors so near by on the 
other side of the river. 

On the return journey, provision is to be made for a 
choice of several routes, viz: up the Boucher Trail, which is 
on the other side of Hermit Basin; along the Tonto Trail 
just above the river, westward to Bass's, and up the Bass 
Trail; or eastward to the Indian Garden, and up the Bright 
Angel Trail. 

See, then, what this projected new road and trail pro- 
vide: An unequalled ten or twelve-mile drive or horse- 
back ride; a descent down an easy, safe and well engineered 
trail which gives the visitor the entree to the scenic heart 
of the Canyon; adequate accommodations to spend the 
night in absolute comfort by the river; opportunity for 
one or more days' enjoyment, in fishing, boating, explonng, 
swimming, riding, rock or flower study; and, finally, a 
choice of three totally dissimilar routes by which to return 
to the rim. 



CHAPTER XI 

FROM EL TOVAR TO BASS CAMP AND DOWN THE BASS TRAIL 

Bass station and Bright Angel Wash. Leaving El Tovar 
(elevation six thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet), 
the road winds for over five miles through the Coconino 
Forest, mainly following the railway track until Bass 
Station appears (elevation six thousand four hundred and 
seventeen feet). The road now enters a narrow defile 
known as the Bright Angel Wash, giving one a fine oppor- 
tunity to learn the singular drainage system of the Canyon 
plateau, which, as has been explained elsewhere, is away 
from the Canyon for many miles. The Wash is picturesque 
and rugged, the side walls occasionally appearing as bare 
masses of rock, and again covered with fertile soil on which 
grow great pines, also ferns, mosses and flowers. The road 
is fairly easy, and the horses travel well. Six and a half 
miles away, the Coconino (Kohonino) Wash is passed 
on the left. A little further on, the Canyon widens some- 
what, and a rude meadow, occasionally filled with rich 
and luscious natural grass, is crossed, after which 
the road makes a slight ascent to the plateau, and more 
open country is reached. 

Over the Plateau. From this point, the ride is diversified. 
There are no steep hills, bjJt the road aims directly for 
its objective point, taking the visitor through growths of 
pinion, — from which the Indians gather the delicious 
pine nuts, — juniper, — from the crushed berries of which 
they make a sweet and refreshing drink, — and over levels 
where rich grama grass grows side by side with the cactus, 



78 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

the amole and the yucca, brightened and vivified by the 
Indian paint-brush, sunflowers, lupines and scores of 
other gorgeously colored flowers. 

Midway between Bass Station and Bass Camp, ten miles 
each way, the road passes a United States Geological 
Survey monument, which records the fact that here the 
plateau is six thousand three hundred and seventy-two 
feet above sea level. 

The Surrounding Mountains. On the journey, glimpses 
are had of the San Francisco peaks, and Mounts Sitgreaves, 
Kendricks, and Floyd, while, in the far-away west and 
south, the blue ridges of the plateau, descending to the 
lower levels, are clearly discernible. To the north and 
west. Mounts Emma and Trumbull and other peaks of 
the Uinkarets appear like deep blue clouds on the horizon. 
They He on the further side of the Canyon, and are seen 
more distinctly from Bass Camp. 

Hotouta Amphitheatre. When fifteen miles from El 
Tovar, the first gaze into the Canyon is afforded at Ho- 
touta Amphitheatre, a deep indentation in the walls of 
the south rim. The road here runs close to the rim. This 
amphitheatre receives its name from Hotouta, the son of 
Navaho, the last great Havasupai chief. Hotouta was 
an enlightened Indian, friendly to the better class of whites, 
clear-headed and honorable in his dealings with them. 

The Cisterns. Thence to Bass Camp the drive is en- 
tirely through pinions and junipers. About a mile before 
the destination is reached, the road passes " The Cisterns," 
where the horses are watered. 

Bass Camp. Bass Camp consists of one small central 
building, containing a dining-room, sitting-room, kitchen 
and several bedrooms. Around are tent-houses and tents 
for the further accommodation of guests, with stable and 
saddle-house, etc. Almost immediately in front of the 
main building the trail bejjins. 

Powell Plateau and Dutton Point. Taking a seat at 
the head of the trail, let us now give our undivided attention 



FROM EL TOVAR TO BASS CAMP 79 

to the scene spread out before us. The predominating 
feature is the great uphft of the opposite wall, and the ag- 
gressiveness of its salient promontory. Here is a break in 
the continuity of the wall of the Kaibab Plateau. This 
break affords an immediate view of the highest portions 
of the Canyon's walls. To the right of the break is the 
Kaibab Plateau, its highest portion being eight thousand 
three hundred feet above sea level. To the left is Powell 
Plateau, seven thousand six hundred and fifty feet elevation. 
The great point, nearest to us, was named Dutton Point, 
after the poet-geologist, whose monograph on the Canyon 
will ever be a memorial to his love of the place, his scientific 
accuracy of observation, and his poetic eloquence of de- 
scription. It is between Kaibab and Powell Plateaus that 
Bass's Trail to Point Sublime climbs its circuitous and 
winding way, — this portion being called "The Saddle." 
The dark growths which crown the plateaus are in reality 
pine trees, which, on the north rim of the Canyon, attain 
immense size. They, and lesser tree growths, descend to 
the bottom of the second mass of talus. 

The Rocks of the North "Wall. The rock bands on the 
opposite walls, a large part of the way down, are like those 
found on the same north wall seen from El Tovar. First 
there is the band of cherty limestone, from which a sloped 
talus leads to the creamy sugary sandstone. Immediately 
below this begins the " red," which descends in strata of 
varying width and color down to a rather narrow-appearing 
slope of red talus, which leads the eye to the widest member 
of all the Grand Canyon strata. This is the so-called 
red-wall limestone. All these strata, from the rim down, 
are said to be in the Upper and Lower Carboniferous 
systems. 

Below this majestic wall appear the variegated strata 
of the Cambrian, in grays, bufi^s, olives, greens and 
yellows. 

The Tilts. Now we see a large exposure of the non- 
conformable strata, which, on account of their very markedly 



80 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

* tilted condition, have been named " The Tilts." Below 
this is found the Archaean rock. 

It is hard for any but the well-trained observer to realize 
that practically the same conditions that exist on the north 
v^ali, exist on the south wall, directly under his feet, except 
that the Algonkian is absent. The talus shuts off the view, 
and it seems impossible that there can be such great preci- 
pice walls as the opposite mural face reveals. It is not as 
high, however, on this side as it is on the other, by fully 
one thousand six hundred and fifty feet. The difference 
is caused by the great upthrust in the earth's crust, which 
detached Powell's Plateau from the Kaibab Plateau. 

One may approximately estimate the various strata 
of the wall of the Kaibab as follows: 

Colorado River, say . . . 2400 feet above sea level 

Archaean looo " thick 

Algonkian Iioo " " 

Cambrian lOOO " " 

Carboniferous 2750 " " 

Total level above sea . . 8250 

Bass Tomb or Holy Grail Temple. The great north 
wall is not featureless. There are a' number of architectural 
forms, of wonderfully varied shape, resting upon bases of 
massive solidity. The most striking of these is a square- 
based monumental mass, — Holy Grail Temple, formerly 
Bass Tomb, — on which rests a well-shaped pyramid, 
crowned with a red and white circular shaft. The whole 
butte is well proportioned, having a base of sixteen square 
miles, and rising to a height of six thousand seven hun- 
dred and ten feet. 

King Arthur Castle. Slightly to the east of it is another 
majestic butte, inferior only in size. The crowning shaft 
is missing here, but a castellated structure of red rock 
suitably dominates it. It bears the name King Arthur 




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FROM EL TOVAR TO BASS CAMP 81 

Castle, and is seven thousand three hundred and fifteen 
feet elevation. 

Guinevere Castle. Still further to the east a v^^inding 
ridge of rock, standing over one of the many oblique gorges 
within the main gorge, leads up to a third dominating 
figure of rock sculpture. This is Guinevere Castle, seven 
thousand two hundred and fifty-five feet. 

Huethawali. Now let the eye rest upon the objects 
immediately before it, and more in the center of the Canyon. 
The chief object is an almost detached mountain, crowned 
with irregular cross-bedded layers of white sandstone. 
The Indians call this mountain Hue-tha-wa-li, (the final 
" i " being pronounced as " e,") which signifies White Rock 
Mountain. This is now the name they give to Bass Camp, 
and the Havasupais at El Tovar, who are starting for 
their Canyon home, will often remark: "We go Hue- 
thawali to-night." Its elevation is six thousand two hundred 
and eighty feet. 

Darwin Plateau. The main plateau before us is named 
Darwin Plateau, after the learned evolutionist. Take 
this plateau as a rude and misshapen hand, imagine the 
thumb and little finger gone, and it will be seen that the 
other three fingers radiate from Darwin Plateau in the 
shape of three irregularly contoured, but fairly level pla- 
teaus, Huethawali resting like a great wart upon the base 
of the middle one of the three. To these plateaus have been 
given the following names: the one to the right is Grand 
Scenic Divide, the middle one is named Huxley Terrace, 
and the one to the left (the west) is Spencer Terrace. 

For a few moments let us look at each of these plateaus, 
and grasp such features as the eyes may observe. 

Grand Scenic Divide and Dick Pillar. Grand Scenic 
Divide was so named because it is the point where the 
granite of the Inner Gorge disappears from the Grand 
Canyon, and this disappearance makes as vast and wonder- 
ful a difference in the Canyon scenery as it is possible to 
find in its whole two hundred and seventeen miles of 



82 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

length. To the right of the Divide, looking eastward, 
where the granite is still in evidence, one can see the temples, 
buttes and towers that make the view from El Tovar and 
Grand View Points so interesting. Looking westward, 
the whole aspect changes, so markedly, indeed, that one 
scarcely can beheve it to be the same Canyon. Hence the 
appropriateness of the name. At the extreme end of this 
plateau, a detached rocky pillar stands peering down into 
the deepest recesses of the Inner Gorge. This bears the 
name Dick Pillar, from Robert Dick, the baker-geologist 
of Thurso, Scotland, who gave such material assistance 
to Hugh Miller in his studies of the Old Red Sandstone. 

Huxley Terrace. Huxley Terrace is the center plateau. 
At its end is an eroded mass of red sandstone, to which 
the name of the noted naturalist and evolutionist, Wallace, 
has been attached. Still nearer the end, and belonging 
to the marble wall, is a pagoda named Tyndall Dome. 

Spencer Terrace. Spencer Terrace is the most western 
of the plateaus, and is where the Mystic Spring used to be, 
which for many years gave its name to Bass's Trail — the 
Mystic Spring Trail. 

These three plateaus vary in width from a quarter of a 
mile to over a mile wide; they are dotted with what seem 
to be patches of grass, but which in reality are juniper and 
pinion trees from ten to forty feet in height. 

Terraces of the Explorers. About a quarter of a mile 
to the west of Bass Camp is the amphitheatre in which 
my earher book, " In and Around the Grand Canyon," 
and a large part of the present book were written. From 
this restful spot I have looked out thousands of times across 
the great bend of the river and Garnet Canyon to the five 
terraces named after the early-day Spanish explorers, 
Marcos, De Vaca, Tovar, Alar^on, and Garces. 

Points of the Explorers. To the west stands out Che- 
mehuevi Point, six thousand six hundred and twenty-six 
feet, while across the river, terminating Powell Plateau, 
are Wheeler Point, six thousand seven hundred and fifty 



FROM EL TOVAR TO BASS CAMP 83 

feet, and just beyotid it Ives Point, six thousand six 
hundred feet. 

To the north of Ives Point, but hidden from view^, are 
Beale Point, six thousand six hundred and ninety-five 
feet, Thompson Point, six thousand seven hundred and 
thirty feet, and Newberry Point, six thousand seven hundred 
and fifty feet, all named after early Arizona explorers and 
geologists. 

Conquistadore Aisle and Steamboat Moimtain. The 
dark chasm of the river itself, where it moves almost due 
west, has been named Conquistadore Aisle, in honor of 
the men whose names are attached to the terraces above. 
Here the river again curves, and its course is seen to be 
to the northeast, as if doubling behind Powell Plateau. 
It then turns back upon itself, and goes to the southwest. 
If the conditions are favorable, one may see, to the left 
of Ives Point, a majestic butte, detached from the further 
wall of the Canyon, and generally known as Steamboat 
Mountain. It is an object of great interest, when seen 
from the saddle on the north rim by those who have crossed 
the Canyon and are journeying to Point Sublime. 

The Scenic Divide. Now let the observer compare the 
view to the left with that which he has carefully examined 
on the right. There, in the latter view, are towers and 
buttes, detached monuments, and a perfect bewilderment 
of scenic features; here, to the left, save for the aisles, 
terraces and further wall, there is little to attract attention. 
The view, comparatively, is uninteresting. The reason for 
this is clear. The granite of the Inner Gorge has disap- 
peared. Here is the Scenic Divide, the natural line of 
demarcation between two distinctive portions of the Canyon, 
the scenery of which is markedly diverse. Where the 
granite is in evidence, the stratified rocks resting upon it 
are carved into varied forms. Where the river flows through 
the stratified rocks, and no granite appears, there are few 
or no buttes, no towers, no monuments. Nowhere else, 
in the accessible portions of the Canyon, is this difference 



84 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

seen, for at Grand View, the head of the old Hance Trail, 
the Red Canyon Trail, Boucher's and the Bright Angel 
Trails, the outlooks are over areas where the granite has 
thrust itself out of the bowels of the earth. 

Bass's Cable Crossing. The ride down Bass's Trail 
is an interesting one, passing on the way two prehistoric 
water-pockets and several cliff-dwellings. On the plateau 
below, forty miles of trail riding, almost on the level, may 
be indulged in, before one descends the narrow Canyon 
to Bed Rock Camp and the river. Here a ferry and cable 
crossing have been established, the former for use during 
low water, while, after the flood season begins, the latter 
enables travelers and stock to make a safe passage in 
the cage suspended from the cable. 



CHAPTER XII 

ACROSS THE GRAND CANYON TO POINT SUBLIME 

Point Sublime. Point Sublime is one of the most impor- 
tant promontories on the north rim. It was here that the 
geologist-poet, Clarence Dutton, wrote many of his de- 
scriptions of Canyon scenery. He says: " The supreme 
views are to be obtained at the extremities of the lonff 
promontories, which jut out between the recesses far into 
the gulf. Sitting upon the edge we contemplate the most 
sublime and awe-inspiring spectacle in the world. The 
length of canyon revealed clearly and in detail at Point 
Sublime is about twenty-five miles in each direction. 
Towards the northwest the vista terminates behind the 
projecting mass of Powell's Plateau. But again to the 
westward may be seen the crests of the upper walls reach- 
ing through the Kanab and Uinkaret Plateaus, and finally 
disappearing in the haze above seventy-five miles away. 

" The space under immediate view from our standpoint, 
fifty miles long and ten to twelve wide, is thronged with a 
great multitude of objects so vast in size, so bold and majestic 
in form, so infinite in their details, that as the truth gradually 
reveals itself to the perceptions, it arouses the strongest 
emotions." 

Several times I had started to Point Sublime, but there 
were difficulties about the trail. Sometime before 1900, Mr. 
Bass completed a trail on the north side of the river, up 
under the shoulders of Powell Plateau and out to the 
desired location. 

Starting for Point Sublime. In August, 1901, a party 



86 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

was arranged, consisting of Mrs. J. B. Gayler, of Ridge- 
wood, New Jersey, a learned doctor from St. Louis, Mr. 
Bass and myself. On Sunday, September ist, after loading 
three pack animals with provisions and bedding needed 
for the trip, we set out down the trail, headed for Point 
Sublime. To the ferry nothing of particular interest oc- 
curred. 

From this point on I shall use the diary of Mrs. Gayler 
as the basis of my descriptions, adding thereto or condensing 
when necessary. It is written in the present tense, which 
will be preserved throughout. 

At the River. She says: " The sight of the river rouses 
me to a considerable pitch of enthusiasm. How dirty and 
muddy a river it is, and how it roars and rages. There 
is a great rapid a quarter of a mile above where we cross. 
While we are to cross in still water, the current is strong 
and bears one on to the worst rapid in the whole river. It 
is named Stanton Rapid, for at that point one of his boats 
was dashed to splinters. He numbered it No. 241. 

" We part with our animals near a little shelter at the 
top of the Archaean rocks and scramble down a slippery 
trail. 

Crossing the River. " With some trepidation I enter 
the boat; a few articles are thrown in. Dad takes the 
oars, some one pushes us off and we are fairly on 
the stream. The boat soon strikes the sandy land- 
ing on the other side, a considerable distance below, 
and Dad hands me out with care and courtesy. I 
occupy myself looking at the structure of the rocks. 
There are many curious faults and flexures. The river 
very strange; walls black, gloomy and precipitous. The 
landing on the south side was solid rock, here a bit of 
sandy beach between bars of rock. The Doctor is already 
here. He makes a fire of driftwood near the wall of black 
rock under which is the stretch of sand. I pick out my 
sleeping place and begin the making of my bed. 

" James, Bass and Dad go back and forth across the 



ACROSS TO POINT SUBLIME 87 

river many times to bring our stuflF, and daylight is entirely 
gone long before the job is completed. 

Supper on the Sand. " I try to help in carrying things up 
the bank but am too tired to be of much use. Gather 
wood for fire. The men had prepared supper by firelight, 
which we take crouching, sitting or lying down on the 
sand. The air is mild and soft. 

Moonlight. " Monday, Sept. 2, 1901. 3 a. m. Writing 
by moonlight. The roar of the rapids is constant. One 
hears it even in sleep. There are occasionally little swirling, 
flapping noises. What a wonderful place for me — a quiet. 
New Jersey woman — to be sleeping in. 

To the Shinumo. " When Mr. Bass awakes he shows 
me a large pool of river water in the rocks. It has settled 
and is clear and cold. After breakfast, the doctor and I 
scramble up the rocky trail to the plateau above, mount 
two of the burros and start for the Shinumo Camp. It is 
6:30 when we start — quite early I should call it — and we 
reach camp at 8.00 a. m. A stiff climb nearly all the 
way. 

" What a clear mountain torrent the Shinumo is. It is 
like our Eastern creeks. Its rocky sides are lined with 
willows or other green trees and it comes splashing and 
dashing down as pure and sweet as can be. 

Shinumo Camp and Garden. " The camp is a novelty 
to me. Part tent, part wood, part rock, — part indoors, 
part outdoors. The fireplace is of stone and out of doors, 
and the table is a great slab of red sandstone resting 
on two heavy rock supports. It would hold a ton. There 
are two good beds. Across the stream a little way down 
is the Shinumo garden. It seems incredible that there can 
be a garden here with excellent melons, cantaloupes, rad- 
ishes, onions, corn, squash, beans, and with fair-sized peach 
and other trees. They tell me it is a prehistoric garden 
and that it was discovered by following the ruins of ancient 
irrigating ditches down to the spot. In the wall beyond 
are several small cliff-dwellings and storage houses for 



88 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

corn and other vegetables. There are tremendous tilts 
and flexures in the rock walls on each side. 

" Mr. Bass and Dad go off to hunt for the horses and 
mules we are to use on the trip. The burros will not travel 
fast enough, though they are going to put me on a large 
burro they name Belshazzar. 

" After lunch each spends the afternoon as he chooses. 
Mr. James invites me to come and visit a snuggery that he 
has established, where I find him writing. He reads what 
he has written, also part of Browning's ' Rabbi Ben 
Ezra.' 

" Tuesday, Sept. 3, igoi. At and preparing to leave 
Shinumo. The magnitude of the undertaking appals 
me. It is so much more tremendous than I anticipated. 

The Start. " The saddling and packing of the animals 
occupies much time. We start about nine o'clock with 
nine animals, six burros, two horses and one mule. My 
Belshazzar is slow but very sure. Mr. James rides the 
mule, a red creature, very nervous and excitable and which 
they tell me is not well broken and does not like to be 
ridden. 

Ascending the Trail. " We go up a long trail over a 
ridge, with loose soil, quite barren. The ascent is not veiy 
steep but the hillside across which the trail passes slopes 
down to canyons and precipices which suggest unfathom- 
able depths. At one place the trail, for about fifty feet, 
is over ashes or some exceedingly loose material that allows 
the animals to slide very quickly down towards the deep 
precipice on the right and the sight is most trying to my 
nerves, but Belshazzar's deliberate walk and sure-footed- 
ness soon restore my usual equanimity. 

" From this we pass into a canyon or series of canyons 
where one can plainly see that in the remote past a torrent 
has poured down, tearing away the soil and tossing huge 
boulders about. Many naked rocky ledges show, and my 
burro is occasionally required to carry me up stone 
steps. 



ACROSS TO POINT SUBLIME 89 

Muav Canyon. " Presently we enter a narrow canyon 
through which flows a clear, cool stream. Walls of red 
rock on both sides with much gray stone. Many large 
sycamores, cottonwoods and alders, grass and flowers, 
with maidenhair ferns on the rocks. We stop for lunch 
under a big cottonwood tree. About four thousand five 
hundred feet elevation. We leave this lovely spot and 
go up the canyon which makes a sharp turn to the left. 
This is Muav Canyon. 

Climbing Higher. " After a little distance we emerge 
from this canyon and leave the stream. Then begins a 
tremendous climb which I accomplish by clinging to the 
coat tails of the guide with one hand and sometimes with 
both hands, he holding tight to the burro's tail ahead of 
him. Belshazzar accepts this — to me — novel situation 
with accustomed cheerfulness and does his best to haul 
us up the mountain, stopping occasionally to recover his 
breath. Finishing this part of the ascent, we come to a 
fertile plateau with trees in great number and variety. At 
an angle of the canyon below, nearly opposite the steep 
trail up which we have just climbed, is the eroded terminus 
of a great promontory, carved into a high and slender 
pedestal upon which stands a rude figure not unlike one 
of the wooden statues seen in the old Franciscan missions 
of California. Below this the rock strata are curved and 
twisted into all kinds of shapes. In one place there is a fold 
where the strata seem to have been curved and forced 
almost into a circle. 

" On this plateau we still see the canyon with its per- 
pendicular gray stone walls. It falls below our trail and 
we ride along the brink of it and down in the bottom see 
the black entrance to a cave. Then we come to the dry bed 
of a stream which we follow until we come to water. The 
quantity is small but it is sweet and pure. We camp here; 
elevation six thousand one hundred feet. 

" The canyon walls are steep and the bottom narrow. 
We are in a heap together, — rolls of bedding, camp-fire, 



90 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

burros, horses, mules, men, kyacks containing food, saddles 
and packs, myself, etc., all in a very small space. 

The Charm of the North Side. " The north side of the 
canyon is much more beautiful and diversified than the 
other, and no one can really know the canyon who does 
not cross and climb to the summit on this side. There is 
a greater variety of fine views, a good proportion of fertile 
country and a far better opportunity for studying the geo- 
logical formation. 

" Wednesday, Sept. 4, igoi. We have had a very cold 
night and though my bed was most comfortable I awake 
feeling rather miserable. My courage almost fails and 
I talk of giving up, but after awhile feel better and decide 
to go on. 

" A discussion goes on as to the time we shall spend 
on the trip and the determination is finally reached that, 
if possible, we shall return to this spot from Point Sublime 
in four days. 

" The little stream, which failed in the night, now runs 
freely, the result of condensation of moisture in the atmos- 
phere above. We start again and ascend a steep, loose 
trail in the manner of yesterday. The trail is very pleasant 
here, springs of excellent water coming out from under 
the cross-bedded sandstone and trees of considerable 
size shadowing the way. 

The Saddle. " At the Saddle there is a long pause for 
repacking the burros. I am started up the next and last 
steep climb on my burro. After a little the trail becomes 
very steep and dangerous looking and I am ordered to 
dismount and finish the climb on my feet with the aid of 
Belshazzar's tail. He is in a hurry and sometimes very 
unceremonious with me. 

On the Kaibab. " We are now on the top of the north 
side, — really on the summit of the Kaibab Plateau. 
Button Point, the great salient promontory of Powell Pla- 
teau, seen so clearly from Bass Camp on the south rim, is 
close before me, and views and vistas in every direction 



ACROSS TO POINT SUBLIME 9i 

are glorious and sublime. We ride on to Swamp Point. 
The views are magnificent, but who shall attempt to de- 
scribe them ? We soon enter a pine forest. Tall pine trees 
and Douglas spruces are the principal trees, with many 
beautiful groups of white aspen. Rich grass and wild oats 
and great quantities of beautiful flowers. We see many 
deer. We stop for lunch and some photographing is done. 

Kanab Unats. " After lunch we start for Kanab Unats 
and pass through many grassy valleys leading into one an- 
other with many windings. We have some difficulty in keep- 
ing the right trail. Mr. Bass has an excellent general 
knowledge of the right direction but he has had to wander 
to and fro in his desire to find water and dare not leave us, 
so we have to accompany him in his searches. The result 
is we cannot reach Kanab Unats to-night. We go up one 
very picturesque part of the trail where a deep gulch 
lies on the right filled with old pine trees and many fallen 
ones, a true specimen of the primeval forest. We see a 
small band of cattle grazing. After luncheon I attempt to 
walk alone in the forest and immediately lose my sense of 
direction. After some yelling on my part the men come to 
my rescue. We start on again, the doctor putting the saddle 
on Belshazzar for me. When I dismount, the result of 
unskilled effort appears, for, as soon as I throw my weight 
over to the left, the saddle turns and I am dumped upon 
the ground. We camp at an altitude of eight thousand 
feet; short of water. 

Short of Water. " Thursday, Sept. 5, 1901. Near 
Kanab Unats. 6 A. M. Very cold. Breakfast is prepared. 
I am allowed two tablespoonfuls of water for toilet pur- 
poses. I help a little with the cooking. We are in a 
thick wood. It is a fine, clear, sunny day, but a chilling 
wind is blowing. 

Ofif for Water. " We make a late start, and go on to 
Kanab Unats where we expect to find water. We arrive 
there about ten. Soon afterwards three cattlemen come 
by. A conference with them is held. They talk doubt- 



92 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

fully about water, but tell where they think it may be found. 
They are much surprised to hear that I have crossed the 
Cahyon. With their consent I kodak them. After they 
depart Mr. Bass and Mr. James start off for water, Mr. Bass 
with one horse and all the canteens to a spring he knows of 
where fine water is to be had, and Mr. James with all the 
animals to a place where water fit for stock may be found. 
They both return in about two hours, pack the animals, 
and we start again about 3:20 p. M. for Point Sublime. We 
go through several grassy, well-wooded ravines, very nearly 
on a level, through much fallen timber and thickets. Then 
we cross several of them. I scramble down off Belshazzar 
and down a very steep hill. Mount ?gain and go on by 
myself, zigzagging up a steep hill. This is mostly through an 
oak thicket without a trail. Over another ravine and I am 
sure now we are near the end of our journey. Up another 
slight ascent and we come in sight of the Canyon. We 
have left the tall trees and the thick grass, and now have 
only mesquites, cedars, yucca and cactus. But we have a 
good trail. 

On Point Sublime. " At last we are on the Point itself. 
So ardently desired, and with only an hour of daylight 
left, we begin to study the wonderful panorama. I am 
photographed rounding up the burros. I am given a 
sheltered place under a juniper tree for my bed, and make 
an arrangement with my canvas to keep oft the wind. 
A very comfortable bed. This Point runs out far into the 
chasm, is narrow for a considerable distance, sides very 
precipitous and the edges describing a very irregular line. 
Very near the extreme end is a clump of cedars, with trunks 
and lower branches so densely matted together as to form 
a good shelter on two sides from the wind (which blows 
furiously). It is in this shelter that I place my bed, making 
with my canvas a protection against the wind on the third 
side so that my sleeping place is as cozy and warm as can 
be. 

"Friday, Sept. 6, 1901. At Point Sublime. I sleep 



ACROSS TO POINT SUBLIME 93 

well and wake refreshed. Many photographs are taken. 
The men go to explore another point not far off and I stay 
in camp. I rest as well as I can in the face of such a stu- 
pendous spectacle. Dutton's descriptions are wonderfully 
vivid and accurate — yet words do not convey ideas to 
those whose imagination is not large enough to realize 
the full meaning of the words. 

On the Return. " We start on the return at eleven o'clock 
having spent about seventeen hours on the Point. At first we 
follow the trail by which we came. Then our leader dis- 
regards the trail and makes our course in a more direct 
line. We go over ridges, some of them terribly steep. 
We go through several lovely valleys with the ridges that 
overlook the canyon on our left. The air is still and cool 
down where we are, but we can see the tops of the trees 
that show above the ridges tossed about in a violent wind 
and can hear its roaring through the forest. We camp 
about three-quarters of a mile from a spring, and by orders 
I sleep under a tree in company with many beetles. It is 
very cold. Camp fire is comforting. 

Into the Canyon Again. " Saturday, Sept. 7, 1901. 
We leave camp at 8 :20. I put out fire while men are packing. 
Find track of small five-toed animal on the trail. We go by 
cattle-trails a short cut to Swamp Point through the forest, 
over ridges, through thickets and some of the grassy valleys. 
Out on Swamp Point again I am shown Bass Camp on 
the south rim. It is scarcely discernible even with glasses, 
the distance is so vast. We all walk down the steep descent 
from this Point and make quick time to the place where 
we camped Sept. 3. We descend one thousand nine hun- 
dred feet in one hour and twenty minutes. After lunch, 
the men then cache much of the remaining provisions and 
cooking outfit for future use, and we go on riding as fast 
as possible down the dry bed of the stream. Then out of 
this, through a narrow canyon, past the gray-rock walls 
and gulch with black cave at bottom and slide in the talus 
above, over the fertile plateau, long descent on foot, where 



94 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

as I zigzag I see the men and the burros what seem to be 
hundreds of feet below. 

" On down another dry stream bed, many stony descents 
in a shut-in canyon. Out of this into more open country, 
but over ridges, up and down. We come down to that part 
of the trail which I feared most in daylight and now we have 
only the starlight to enable us to descend. Mr. Bass 
takes me in charge and Mr. James goes up over the ridges 
to round up the burros which have been left to their own 
devices. A torch of sage-brush is lighted to find the trail. 
At last we reach the bottom. The men throw some blank- 
ets on the ground for me and I fall upon them. They go 
down to the Shinumo, which is only a few yards away, 
prepare supper and bring a cup of hot coffee for me. I 
return with them, make my bed, eat a hearty supper and 
then fall asleep with the roar of the Shinumo in my ears. 
My bed is comfortable and I have a feeling of perfect 
safety and confidence. 

Watermelons in the Canyon, " Sunday, Sept. 8, 1901. 
We are on the Shinumo, and only half an hour's ride above 
the camp. What a beautiful stream it is; cataracts, still 
reaches, rapids, sandy shoals, deep pools, and the water 
so pure, blue and clear. We cross and re-cross many times, 
through thickets of willow and mesquite. I am many times 
scratched and my hat is forcibly snatched from my head. 
At camp I feed watermelon rinds to Belshazzar who receives 
them as gratefully as I did the melons. How strange to 
find them growing here, — so ripe, rich and delicious. 
I feel very weary but deeply regret having to leave this 
lovely place. We start for the river. When the others 
arrive the packs, etc., are taken across in three loads. The 
four of us go over in the last load. Scramble up the Ar- 
chaean by myself and sit in the shade, near the shelter tent, 
until I am put on the burro Joe and started off with the 
doctor. 

Back at Bass Camp. " Dad had brought the burros 
here to receive us, all the animals we had ridden to Point 



ACROSS TO POINT SUBLIME 95 

Sublime having been left on the north side. At Bed Rock 
Camp we all have lunch, and then at 4 p. m., the others with 
the burros having gon on ahead, we follow. I remain 
on my burro all the way up, save at three places, where Mr. 
James deems it best for me to dismount. At last, we make 
the final ascent, I see the tent above my head, then the 
roof of the house at Bass Camp, and in another moment 
or two the most memorable and wonderful trip of my life 
is over." 



CHAPTER XIII 

HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED^ 

The beginning of land. In the long ago centuries, when 
the world was " without form and void," waters covered 
the face of the earth, and darkness brooded over the waters. 
As the earth's crust began to shrink under the water, 
in the process of cooling, the first masses to crumple up, 
to wrinkle, were the first to arise above the surface of the 
vast, primeval, shoreless ocean. They appeared as tiny 
islands, pinnacles, or ridges thrust up, exactly as we see 
them sometimes on the coast, — hidden at high tide; 
appearing again at low tide. 

The Laurentian Hills. Nature had plenty of time before 
her, so she did not hurry her work, and it took long centuries 
before there was any large amount of land thrust up out 
of the bosom of the sea. The scientists are able to tell us, 
with some definiteness, which came forth first. They say 
that on the continent of America the earliest born land was 
a mass of granitic rock in Canada, — the Laurentian 
Hills. The next to peer above the surface and feel the 
warmth of the sun were peaks and ridges that made islands 
of themselves, in what are now known as the Rocky Moun- 

'This chapter, while in manuscript, was read by Dr. Charles 
D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and form- 
erly Director of the United States Geological Survey, and also 
by Professor Matthis, of the Survey. It may therefore be ac- 
cepted as a fairly accurate and authoritative presentation of the 
geological conditions existent at the Canyon, with their explana- 
tions, as accepted by the leading scientists of to-day. 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 97 

tains and the Appalachians. Now, at last, the great waves 
of the sea and the resistless storms had something to play 
with, and they pounced down upon the land as with tooth 
and claw. They rubbed and pounded, raged and smashed 
for a thousand years, and then another thousand, and still 
another, while Mother Earth uneasily thrust forth her 
rocky children out of the ocean into the light of day. Sur- 
prised at such treatment by the storms and seas, the newly 
born earth masses began to crumble and " weather." 
The detached fragments slipped back, or were washed 
back, into the deeper or shallower parts of the ocean, and 
were there tossed back and forth, pounc'ed and ground into 
sand and silt, into pebbles and boulders, while more land 
was slowly being thrust out for the angry sea to work 
upon. Layer by layer, the ground-up masses were deposited 
in the inner ocean bed, parts of which were now practi- 
cally shut off from the vast ocean beyond. How many 
centuries of centuries this process continued geologists 
do not tell us. Time Is so vast, so long, that they cannot 
divide those early days into weeks, months and years, 
as we now do. 

The Continent is bom. After many millions of tons 
had been thus ground up and tossed about and mingled 
with the waters of the seas, the earth, in a fit of fiery anger, 
turned and baked them, with intense heat, out of all sem- 
blance to their former appearance. These baked masses, 
in the course of time, were thrust up out of the seas, mashed 
and macerated once more, again deposited as sand, silt, 
pebbles and boulders, and again burned. These processes 
followed each other, how many times we do not know, 
the earth all the while keeping up her steady uplift of the 
children of her bosom out of the great sea. Higher and 
higher came the land. Further and further receded the 
sea, until, in due course, the sun shone upon a vast area 
of land that was the rude skeleton of what is now the 
continent of North America. 

It would have taken a keen eye, however, to have im- 



98 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

agined from that which we see to-day what was there. 
The Gulf of Cahfornia reached far up, even into Nevada, 
and covered what are now the. Mohave and Colorado 
Deserts; there was no California Coast Range; the Gulf 
of Mexico was vastly larger than it is to-day, covering all 
Florida, and reaching up the Mississippi Valley half-way 
to the Great Lakes. 

The First Strata. It was just preceding the last uplift 
of this epoch that the era of deposition of rock debris was 
so prolonged that twelve thousand feet of strata were 
washed into the bed of the sea, in the region now known 
as the Grand Canyon Country. It was at the time when 
life was beginning to dawn, for in the remnants of the 
strata are found fossils of the earliest known life. These 
strata, therefore, are of immense interest to the geologist, 
as they are the first known rocks containing life to emerge 
from the primeval sea. Within the last few years, they 
have been called the Algonkian Series, and later I shall 
speak of them more freely. 

Prior to the deposition of these Algonkian strata, the 
Laurentian rocks (the granite) upon which they rest were 
subject to a long period of "planation," — as the grinding 
down and levelinor of rock surfaces is termed. After this 
planation was complete, a subsidence occurred; the whole 
area became the bed of an inland sea, and upon the planed- 
down granite, the debris that formed the Algonkian strata 
was washed. 

While they were being deposited, the whole region was the 
scene of several seismic and volcanic disturbances, for 
great dykes and " chimneys " of lava are found, show- 
ing clearly that, by some means or other, the strata 
were broken and shattered, cracked and seamed, and 
that through these cracks the molten lava oozed — forced 
up from the interior of the earth. It spread out over 
the Algonkian rocks in small sheets or blankets, which 
here and there are still to be found to-day. 

Tilting of the Algonkian Strata. Slowly this twelve 




Archean 



I 

FIG. I. SECTION SHOWING THE TILTING OF THE ALGONKIAN STRATA 
ABOVE THE ARCHEAN, AND THE FRAGMENTS OF THE STRATA THAT 
REMAIN. 




Toral Hei9h^ 
12.000. F^eT 



FIG. 2. SECTION SHOWING ORIGINAL IDEAL DEPOSITION OF ALGON- 
KIAN STRATA BEFORE TILTING TOOK PLACE AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 
ONE. 




FIG. 3. SHOWING DEPOSITION OF THE CARBONIFEROUS AND LATER 
STRATA AT THE CANYON AND THE REGION BEYOND. ON THE RIGHT 
IS SUGGESTED, ABOVE THE CARBONIFEROUS, THE STRATA THAT ARE 
FOUND NORTH OF THE CANYON, AS DESCRIBED ON PAGE IO3. 




FIG. 4. IMAGINARY RESTORATION OF THE CARBON IFEKOIS AND LATER 
. STRATA OVER THE CANYON, THE DOTTED LINES SUGGESTING THE 

PRESENT APPEARANCE OF THE CANYON AND DENOTING HOW MUCH 

OF THE STRAT.A HAS BEEN WASHED AWAY. 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 99 

thousand feet of strata emerged into the sunlight. In the 
uphfting processes, the surface of the earth, where they 
were, became tilted, and these strata therefore " dipped " 
or" tilted " away from the perpendicular. As they emerged, 
weathering and erosion began. It is most probable that 
this process of degradation began and continued while the 
topmost strata were at or near sea level, so that it was a 
simultaneous process with the uplift. 

Erosion of the Algonkian. How many centuries this 
weathering and washing away process consumed no one 
knows. At the close of this epoch, however, the Algonkian 
strata had been eroded almost away, owing to its tilted 
condition, so that in some places even the surface of the 
Archaean was exposed, and suffered the planing-down 
process. Figure i on plate facing page g8 is a suggestion 
as to the possible appearance of the rocks at this time. 

Even then, in those far-away, early ages of history, if one 
had been present to measure these strata, he would have 
discovered the astounding fact that, although he had 
measured them and found twelve thousand feet before 
they began to emerge from the ocean, there were 
but about five hundred feet of them left. This is one of 
the interesting facts in geology, — that an observant 
reader can deduce so much from so little. 

The twelve thousand feet deposit. " But," asks the lay- 
man, " I cannot possibly see how, if only five hundred feet 
of strata are left, any one could ever tell that there were 
once twelve thousand feet. If eleven thousand five hundred 
feet are gone, how do you know they ever existed .? " 

A very reasonable question and one very easily answered. 
Refer to the sketch. Let the bracket on the right show the 
present width of the remaining strata, viz: five hundred 
feet. Now observe the tilted condition of the remnants. 
To get the original height of the depositions begin with 
No I, the stratum nearest the Archaean and measure that. 
Suppose it gives us five hundred feet. No. 2 gives two 
hundred feet; No. 3, five hundred feet; No. 4, one hundred 



100 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

and seventy-five; and so on up to No. 14. As these strata 
were deposited horizontally, all we have to do is to mentally 
replace them in their horizontal position. Throw the tilted 
strata back again into their original condition, and by 
this method of measurement it is seen that the twelve 
thousand feet can be made up. Figure 2, facing page 98. 

Another interesting question here arises: " What be- 
came of the vast quantity of sand and silt and pebbles 
that formed and were carried away during such a gigantic 
process ? For, think of it, eleven thousand five hundred 
feet of strata, or rock, two miles high, almost three times 
as high a mass as the present distance in vertical height 
from El Tovar to the river! Where has it all gone ? " 

Naturally an answer to these questions is mere conjecture, 
as only from a study of the facts revealed underneath 
the present strata, can any comparative knowledge be 
gained of the conditions existent at that prehistoric age. 
There may have been one river, or a score, or any number 
between, and it is probable one or more rivers carried the 
Algonkian debris westward and deposited it, as the Colorado 
River (not brought into existence until centuries later) is 
now doing with the debris of the existent strata. 

Another Subsidence. Now, a new era is about to dawn. 
Planed and smoothed off as they are, the Algonkian and 
Archaean masses are to be submerged once more in the 
ever receptive ocean. A period of subsidence occurs, and 
the whole area is soon hidden under the face of the sea. 
But, all around these are masses, some day to be mountain 
peaks, that refuse to sink again into the sea. Then the 
forces of the air assail them. If they cannot be drowned, 
they shall be gnawed at, smitten, cut and worried by the 
air, the chemicals of the atmosphere, the storms, the rain, 
the hail, the frost, the snow, and thus made to feel their 
insignificance. Slowly or rapidly, they yielded to this 
disintegrating process, and as the rocky masses broke 
up, they were washed by the rills and streams into the 
bed of the sea, where they soon rested upon the tilted ends 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 101 

of the Algonkian strata and exposed surfaces of the Archaean 
masses, waiting for them. 

The Deposition of the Tonto Sandstones. The wise men 
tell us that this ocean was a salt sea, and that it was quite 
shallow while these new sediments were being deposited. 
Little by little one thousand feet of the sediments of this 
epoch were washed down, so that it is very likely that the 
tilted strata upon which they rested slowly sank lower and 
lower to accommodate them. Then, for some reason or 
other, there was a rest for a while — a few hundreds or 
thousands of years — and the masses of sediments became 
cemented into sandstone and shale, which we call the Cam- 
brian formation, or the Tonto sandstone. This is to be 
seen resting both upon the Archaean and Algonkian from 
the porches of El Tovar. It is composed of strata of dull 
buff, very different from the brilliant reds — almost crim- 
sons — of the Algonkian, and the bright reds of the strata 
which later were to rest above them. 

Geological Terms. What an audacious science this 
geology is! How ruthlessly it wrests aside the curtain 
from the mystery of the past, and how glibly it deals with 
thousands, millions of years, tying them up into packages, 
as it were, and handing them out labeled " eras " and 
" periods." As usual, the names made by the wise men 
are hard to pronounce, and seemingly hard to understand. 
But a few minutes will take away the difficulty. They 
divide the eras into four, viz.: i, Proterozoic; 2, Paleozoic; 
3, Mesozoic; 4, Cenozoic. All these " zoics " have to do 
with life. Proterozoic means before hfe, and signifies 
the rocks that contain no fossils indicative of life; Paleo- 
zoic signifies the most ancient forms of Hfe; Mesozoic 
signifies " middle life " or those between the most ancient 
and the Cenozoic, or recent forms of life. 

The periods are lesser divisions of the eras. In the 
Proterozoic, there are two periods, viz.: the Archaean and 
the Algonkian. The Paleozoic has six periods, viz.: the 
Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous 



102 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

and Permian. The Mesozoic era has three periods, — 
the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, while the Cenozoic 
era names five periods, — the Eocene, Ohgocene, Miocene, 
Phocene and Pleistocene. 

Absence of Certain Strata. To shorten our story, let 
me at once say that during the periods that the Ordovician, 
the Silurian and the Devonian w^ere forming, the Grand 
Canyon region was either above water so that it received 
none of these sediments, or, if any were deposited, they 
were almost entirely removed by the weathering proc- 
esses before described, ere the region again sank into 
the ocean to receive the deposits of the Carboniferous 
epoch. 

The Carboniferous. During this latter period, more 
than three thousand feet of strata were deposited. These 
are the most striking in appearance of all the Canyon 
strata, for they reach from the Tonto shales to the rim, 
and consist of three principal strata (with many smaller 
ones in between). The largest is the red-wall limestone, 
which constitutes the base of nearly all the architectural 
forms found in the Canyon, and is the thickest of all the 
strata. It presents the " tallest " wall of the series. The 
two separate walls, one above the other, on the top of the 
Canyon, as" seen in the arms of the amphitheatre at El Tovar, 
are the other two wide members of this Carboniferous 
period. The lower is the cross-bedded sandstone, and the 
upper the cherty limestone. There is a remarkable differ- 
ence in the appearance and the material of which these 
Carboniferous strata are formed, and those of the East 
and Europe. We generally think of coal-beds — carbon — 
when this period is mentioned. Here there are none. In 
the East, in England, and in other parts of Europe, vast 
marshes existed in this period, and the rank vegetation 
of these marshy areas formed the coal-beds with which 
the Carboniferous there abounds. It is only by the fossils 
found that the periods to which the various strata belong 
are determined, and the fossils, millions of which abound 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 103 

in the upper limestone, are clearly of the Carboniferous 
epoch. 

As these strata and this period bring us to the " rim " 
of the Canyon, it might be easy to imagine that the pro- 
cesses of uplift and subsidence, and deposition of more 
strata, as far as the Canyon region is concerned, now cease. 
Such, however, is not the case. 

Later Strata. As we go away from the Canyon, either 
north or east, we find thousands of feet more of the later 
depositions, and the geologists affirm that many of these 
at one time may have overlaid the Canyon region. There 
is circumstantial evidence, amounting almost to proof, and 
Figure 3 of plate facing page 99 suggests what that evidence 
is. It should be carefully noted that the Canyon has been 
cut through the highest portions of a ridge, which runs 
generally from east to west, and the slopes of which, there- 
fore, were north and south from the ridge. As one travels 
north from the Canyon, he finds all the way along, for 
hundreds of miles, that he goes on a down slope for a 
number of miles and then suddenly comes to the jutting 
edges of slightly tilted strata (only 2°) which make a cliff 
up which he must climb. Arrived at the top of this, the 
downward descent begins again, until another ridge of 
these slightly tilted strata appears, see Figure 3 of plate 
facing page 99. Thus he continues up into Utah, and 
south and east into Arizona. 

Now, in imagination, restore these cliff's of Permian, 
Triassic, Jurassic and even Cretaceous strata over the 
whole Canyon platform. Figure 4 of plate facing page 99. 

Red Butte, which is the prominent landmark seen from 
the railway on the right, when going from Williams to the 
Canyon, is said to be a remnant of the Permian. 

Deposition of Strata in Shallow Water. It is, I believe, 
generally accepted by the geologists that the accumulation 
of much of the sediments of the Cambrian, Carboniferous, 
Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods took 
place in shallow water, and that the sea bottom slowly sank 



104 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

under the weight of the increasing deposits. Hundreds, 
thousands of years must have elapsed during the process, 
for the indications are that the sinking did not exceed 
a few inches every hundred years! As carefully measured, 
these sediments then amounted to about two miles. Im- 
agine, then, these Cambrian rocks, that at El Tovar are 
clearly seen above the " granite " or Archaean, sunk in 
the ocean, to the depth of two miles, and covered over 
with the various strata, the topmost of which was barely 
above sea level at periods of low tide. 

Cretaceous Uplift. Then began another epoch of uplift. 
Slowly the Cretaceous rocks emerged from the sea, and 
were subject to the fierce attacks of nature that produce 
erosion. Now we have to grope blindly for a while, as the 
wise ones do not have facts enough upon which to speak 
with definite certainty. But it is assumed that a great 
warping of the earth's crust took place, and that in this 
revolution some of the plateau sank, — supposedly the 
northern part, though it certainly extended across the 
Canyon nearly as far south as Williams and Ash Fork, — 
and other parts — the edges — arose, and thus formed a 
basin which became another vast inland sea. 

Eocene Lake. We know this was an inland sea, and 
had no connection with the ocean, for all the fossils and 
sediments deposited in it reveal that they are fresh-water 
organisms. In this sea, as in the earlier oceans, vast de- 
posits of sediment were made in the early Eocene period, 
and another period of subsidence occurred. Then the 
great lake was drained, and the uplift began, slow and sure; 
then, and not before, were the conditions existent that have 
made the Canyon country as we see it to-day. Peaks 
and islets received the rainfall, tiny rivers were formed that 
grew larger and cut their way in deeper, as the uplift 
continued. The principal stream, which was then born, 
was the Colorado. It is supposed, from various evidences, 
that the rainfall was very much more abundant then than 
now, and consequently the rivers had greater flow, and 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 105 

more eroding and carrying capacity. The uplift continued, 
and the geologists tell us it did not cease until about fifteen 
thousand feet, deposited since Cretaceous times, were 
thrust up into the air. As almost all this mass of deposition 
has disappeared from the immediate Canyon region, we are 
compelled to believe that it has been swept away down the 
Colorado River to join the sands of the Carboniferous and 
later periods in the Colorado Desert, the Salton Basin, the 
great low region of Lower California, and the Gulf itself. 

Loss by Erosion in the Canyon Region. Now figure 
out for a few moments the results of these different 
erosive periods. Eleven thousand five hundred feet of Al- 
gonkian gone; a small amount of erosion in the Cambrian 
epoch, the depth of which is unknown; and then the 
great denudation of the Eocene period sweeping away 
upwards of fifteen thousand feet of strata, give us a 
total of twenty-six thousand five hundred feet that have 
totally disappeared from the Canyon region. A vertical 
mile is five thousand two hundred and eighty feet. Mount 
Washington is about six thousand five hundred feet above 
the sea, — a trifle higher than Mount Lowe, near Pasa- 
dena, California. Take oflF from this six thousand five 
hundred feet, say one thousand five hundred feet, for the 
level of the country at the base of these two mountains, 
and then imagine a region five times as high as both of 
them, covering an area of country of possibly thirteen thou- 
sand to fifteen thousand square miles, slowly planed off 
by the erosive forces of nature. 

Formation of River Beds. How was it done ? I have 
spoken of the peaks and islets that first emerged from the 
Eocene Sea, and received the rains. Down their slopes 
ran the earliest watercourses, first as rills, then as creeks, 
finally as rivers. The higher the peaks ascended, the 
more the accompanying land was lifted up, and therefore 
the longer and deeper became the rivers. The course of a 
river once established, it is exceedingly difficult to change 
it — hence the law that geologists call " the persistence 



106 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

of rivers." By and by, the uplifted country appeared as 
one vast area of river valleys, separated by stretches of 
plateau. Little by little, working by laws that are pretty 
well understood, the swift flowing rivers cut downwards. 
When their velocity ceased, the widening of the river courses 
began, and progressed with greater rapidity, so that, 
in time, the divides that intervened between the rivers were 
worn away, — a process rudely shown in Fig. 5 A. B. C. 
and D. of plate on page no. 

The formation of the Canyon. Now, in imagination, 
let us hark back to the day when this plateau was in the 
condition thus described. Nearly everything in the way 
of strata has been planed down to the Carboniferous rocks. 
The plateau is about at sea level. One great river already 
exists, with two arms, now called the Green and the Grand, 
the main river some day to be known as the Colorado. 
Slowly the uplift begins. It is a fairly even process, and 
yet there is slightly more pressure brought to bear under 
the southern portion, so that the whole mass has a 
slight tilt to the north. Professor Salisbury found certain 
beds of rock at seven thousand eight hundred feet above 
sea level at the base of the San Francisco Mountains 
near Flagstaff^. Forty-five miles north, at the Grand Can- 
yon, these same beds are only six thousand four hundred 
feet above sea level, while at the Vermilion Cliffs, another 
forty-five miles to the north, they are but four thousand 
four hundred feet above the sea. 

Yet in spite of this northward tilt, when the eye ranges 
over the country to the south and west, from the upper 
porch of El Tovar, a large area of depression can clearly 
be seen, showing that surface erosion has planed away 
much of the upper crust. 

The Plateau Region. Now we are ready to take a look 
at the borders of the plateau region. On the north, it ex- 
tends into Utah, where still higher plateaus bound it. To 
the west, it extends by" gigantic steps into the desert region. 
The main step is along the Grand Wash, near the one 



HOW THE CA?^ON WAS FORMED 107 

hundred and fourteenth meridian. To the south, there is 
one glorious step, known as the Mogollon Escarpment 
(locally the Red Rock Country), some three thousand feet 
high, which extends for a number of miles east and west, 
and then breaks down. This step and broken levels lead 
to the irregular lands of Central and Southern Arizona. 
On the east, the plateau extends to the Echo Cliffs beyond 
Marble Canyon, and as far as the ridge of the Continental 
Divide, where the Santa Fe crosses the Zuni Mountains, 
east of Gallup, N. M. 

Present Conditions. With this general view of the great 
plateau in our mind's eye, we are prepared to examine 
present conditions at any given spot in the Canyon. Let 
us, therefore, take a seat at El Tovar, and try to read a 
few pages of the stone book of Creation as opened there. 
Suppose all this vast region at about sea level, and the 
uplift just beginning. The course of the Colorado River 
is already well defined. As the uplift continues, the cherty 
limestone and possibly the cross-bedded sandstone are 
both cut through, as the plateau slowly emerges. Whether 
the process of uplift is slow or rapid, as soon as a stratum 
emerges, it becomes subject to the influences of weathering, 
and the uppermost strata appearing first, they are weathered 
most. Hence the recession of the uppermost cliffs is greater 
than that of the cliffs lower down. The differences in 
hardness and resistance to weathering are alone responsible 
for the step-like profile of cliffs and terraces. The lower 
platform owes its width entirely to the rapid weathering 
and recession of the soft shales, which overlie the Tonto 
sandstones. The red-wall limestone, on the other hand, 
remains standing out as a cliff because of its exceeding 
durability. 

The Faults. During the final uplift, the river cut through 
the Cambrian and Algonkian strata, and into the Granite 
Gorge as we find it to-day, and the process is still slowly 
going on. During these various periods of uplift, there 
were other changes occurring. Sometimes the uplift was 



108 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

uneven, certain parts of the plateau being lifted more 
rapidly than other parts; then occurred breaks in the strata, 
called faults. There are a great number of these faults 
in the plateau country, most of them crossing the Canyon 
from north to south. This faulting, as is readily seen, 
would produce cracks, and as the uneven uplift continued, 
the strata on one side of the crack would be lifted higher than 
the strata on the other side. Or, the strata on one side of 
the crack would be uplifted, while the other would subside. 

Bright Angel Fault. El Tovar rests directly upon the 
strata affected by the Bright Angel Fault line. On going 
down the Bright Angel Trail, one cannot fail to see, as he 
passes the top of the cross-bedded sandstone, the break 
in the strata. To the left it is fully one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred feet higher than it is on the right. The same 
depression may be observed in driving out to Hopi Point, or 
returning. The stratum on which the road is made should 
be at the same level as the stratum on which El Tovar rests. 

Fault at Bass Camp. This fault is but one of a score 
or more on the plateau. At Bass Camp there was a fault 
which displaced the strata on each side of the " break " 
to the extent of four thousand feet. Later, another fault 
occurred, which readjusted the displacement somewhat, and 
reduced the difference to two thousand feet, yet left the 
evidences of the former wide divergence. It was also 
during these uplift periods that the volcanic mountains 
of the region came into existence, as the San Francisco 
Range, Mounts Kendricks, Sitgreaves, Williams and Floyd 
on the south, and the Uinkarets — Mounts Trumbull, 
Logan, Emma — on the north. 

Lava Flows. In one place, south of Mount Emma, 
Powell's party saw where vast floods of lava had flowed 
from it into the river. They declare that " a stream of 
molten rock has run up the Canyon three or four miles, 
and down, we know not how far. The whole north side, 
as far as we can see, is lined with the black basalt, and 
high up on the opposite wall are patches of the same ma- 



HOW THE CANYON WAS FORMED 109 

terial, resting on the benches, and filling old alcoves and 
caves, and giving to the wall a spotted appearance." All 
these volcanic mountains can be seen from Hopi or Yava- 
pai points, near El Tovar. 

The Algonkian Strata. The Algonkian strata of the 
Grand Canyon are by far the most interesting. Major 
Powell was the first to call attention to their existence in 
his report of explorations of 1869-1872, and he discusses 
their origin and history as far as was possible with the 
small amount of data he had at hand. Later Dr. Charles D. 
Walcott, his successor as Director of the United States 
Geological Survey, and now the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution, spent a full winter in the heart of the Canyon, 
especially studying the unique formations. Unique they 
are, for, though found elsewhere on the earth, they are 
exceedingly rare, and, up to this time, had received little 
study and were unknown and unnamed. The area studied 
by Walcott lies at the very entrance to the Grand Canyon, 
near where the Marble Canyon and Little Colorado Canyon 
join the main one. While the series cross the river and are 
a fine feature of Red Canyon Trail, the main study was 
done on the north side. Dr. Walcott thus locates the site of 
his studies: " This area, between 35° 57* and 36° 17' north 
latitude, and between 111° 47' and 1 1 2° west longitude, is in 
the valley portion of the Canyon, between the mouth ot 
Marble Canyon and a point south of Vishnu's Temple, a little 
west of where the Colorado River changes its course from 
south to southwest. It is wholly within the greater depths of 
the Grand Canyon, east and southeast of the Kaibab 
Plateau. The intercanyon valleys of this portion of the 
Grand Canyon extend back from three to seven miles west 
of the river, and are eroded in the crest of the Monoclinal 
fold that forms the eastern margin of the Kaibab Plateau." 

There are also interesting remnants of Algonkian di- 
rectly opposite El Tovar to the west of the Bright Angel 
Creek. They are easily discernible by their brilliant gera- 
nium or vermilion color. They extend for a mile or more 



110 



THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 



westward, and rise above the Tonto sandstones, which 
properly belong above them. 

The most remarkable deposit and exhibition of Algon- 
kian strata in the Canyon, so far as known, occurs directly 
east of the great Kalbab Plateau, opposite the Little Colorado 
River. Here there must be several, possibly five or six 
thousand feet of these interesting strata, which Nature 
has allowed to remain up to our day. Geologists are now 
investigating them more thoroughly than ever before, and 
we may expect, when they publish the reports of their 
labors, that our geological knowledge of the Algonkian 
epoch, and possibly of other puzzling matters, will be much 
increased by the light they will throw upon them. 




t 



L 



J 



B D 

FIG. 5. SERIES OF SECTIONS SHOWING THE ULTIMATE DENUDATION 
OF A REGION BY THE CONTINUOUS WIDENING OF RIVER VALLEYS. 







i»£.^^fi" 









iK'^-'/*'\ 






/. 




VISHNU TEMl'LE. A DETAIL OF GRAND CANYON EROSION. 
Taken from monograph of U. S. Geological Survey. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE CANYON — ABOVE AND BELOW 

The Canyon Rim. There are several rather remarkable 
and surprising points of difference between the Canyon 
on the rim, and the Canyon in its depths. Above, the 
whole Canyon region, save during the rainy season, is 
waterless, and while not barren, owing to the growths 
made possible by winters' snows and summers' rains, 
it is a veritable desert as far as water, whether in streams, 
creeks, rivulets or springs, is concerned. 

Drainage of the Canyon. On both sides of the Canyon, 
all the surface water of the rains drains away from the 
Canyon for miles, and not until it has flowed, perhaps from 
within a few feet of the edge of the abyss itself, from twenty 
to a hundred miles, does it empty into the drainage channels 
which, burrowing down into the earth, reconvey the water 
back, by circuitous routes, into the depths of the Canyon, 
there to add to the flow of the Colorado. 

Rain at El Tovar. Take rain that falls, for instance, 
at El Tovar itself, within sight of the Canyon. After a 
heavy storm, the visitor may see it dashing down the Bright 
Angel Wash (up whtch the railway runs) to Bass Station, 
where it turns and enters the narrower section of the Wash. 
It flows in a general southwesterly direction, and enters 
the Coconino Wash, which discharges into the open plain, 
once the bed of the great inland Eocene Sea. Here it dis- 
appears. 

An Underground Stream, In this plain are some breaks 
in the rocky bed, which allow the water to flow down to 



112 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

join the underground current of the Havasu (or Cataract) 
Creek, which rises on the northern slope of" Bill W illiams 
Mountain. This underground stream (as explained in the 
chapter on Havasu Canyon) emerges at the head of the 
village of the Havasupai Indians, in a thousand springs, and 
then flows on, over several precipices, to the lower levels, 
thus making the exquisite waterfalls that have rendered this 
Canyon world-famous. It finally reaches the Colorado some 
fifteen miles away, where its clear blue waters are soon 
lost in the muddy flood of the " Red." 

Water in the Canyon. After one has ridden in the hot 
summer sun over this waterless region, and seen the water- 
wagons of the miners and sheep men, and the great train 
of water-tanks being hauled for the guests at El Tovar, 
it is a surprise and a wonder to find below, in the heart of 
this rocky-walled Canyon, a mighty river dashing its head- 
long way to the west. Many a time, after a week of riding 
horseback on the plateau above, until every particle of 
moisture seemed to have evaporated from my body, have 
I gone down the trail to the river and camped there, en- 
joying a swim several times a day, and rowing up and down 
one of the quiet stretches, between the rapids, where 
boating is not only possible but reasonably safe. In the 
Bright Angel and the Shinumo on the north side, and 
the Havasu on the south side, one may swim, or at least 
soak and paddle, in cooling waters, where waving willows, 
giant sycamores, and green cottonwoods sway above the 
streams, and rich verdure of great variety lines their banks. 
What a wonderful contrast, — above and below! 

Difference between the Rim and the River. Another 
remarkable diff^erence, or surprise, is found when one leaves 
the rim above, where the weather is lovely and there is not 
a sign of rain, and go below to the river, which gives evidence 
of a great rise. How can the river rise without rain ? 
Yet it seems to, and one almost doubts the evidence of his 
own senses. 

Experience on the River. Engineer Stanton tells of an 



THE CAN\'ON — ABOVE AND BELOW 113 

experience as his party went through the river: " About 
2:30 p. M. we heard a deep, loud roar, and saw the breakers 
ahead in white foam. With a great effort we stopped 
upon a pile of broken rock that had rolled into the river. 
When we went ahead to look, much to our surprise, the 
whole terrible rapid that we had expected to see had dis- 
appeared, and there was only a rushing current in its stead. 
While we stood wondering, there rose right at our feet 
those same great waves, twelve to fifteen feet in height 
and from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet long 
across the river, rolling down stream like great sea waves, 
and breaking in white foam with terrible noise. We 
watched and wondered and at last concluded that this was 
the forefront of a vast body of water rolling down this 
narrow trough from some great cloud-burst above. (We 
learned afterwards that there had been such a cloud-burst 
on the head-waters of the Little Colorado.) Believing that 
discretion was the better part of valor, we camped right 
there on that pile of rocks, fearing that, although our boats 
would ride the waves in safety, we might be caught in one 
of these rolls just at the head of a rapid, and, unable to 
stop, be carried over the rapid with the additional force 
of the rushing breakers." 

High and Low Water. The piles of driftwood found on 
the rocks in the Canyon reveal a difference of upwards 
of two hundred feet between high and low water. This, 
however, does not refer to the general condition of high 
water, but to exceptional cases. As, for instance, I myself 
once saw a mass of rock, the whole face of the cliff, con- 
taining doubtless millions of tons, fall into the trough of the 
stream. The whole course was at once dammed up, and 
the river rose sixty feet in one hour before the principal 
mass of rock was made topheavy by the power of the flood. 
Then it rolled over with the force of the millions of tons of 
water behind it, and crumbled as it rolled. The mighty 
wave dashed on, carrying everything before it. In less than 
another hour the rock mass had disappeared, and the 



114 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

water had resumed its normal level. A rise of fifty to 
seventy feet is not so very unusual in the heart of the gorge, 
where it is narrow and the waters would necessarily pile 
up. To see such a rise, without any evidence of a rain 
above, is a wonderful experience that one occasionally 
enjoys. 

Snow on the Rim. Another remarkable contrast is ob- 
served by winter tourists. On the rim at El Tovar, Grand 
View, or Bass Camp snow may fall during December, 
January and February, and sometimes in March, though 
it quickly disappears. This is not surprising when one 
considers the high altitudes. The weather is then some- 
times quite frigid, but it is a dry cold which rapidly yields 
to the warm midday sun. Do not imagine from this gen- 
eral statement that winter, as we know it in the East, 
is the usual thing at the Canyon. Quite the reverse. There 
are more sunshiny, warm, windless, stormless and no-snow 
days than othei-wise, taking one year with another. Real 
winter weather often stays away until well into January. 
Some years it is a negligible quantity. At no time need it 
be feared by the traveller. 

Trails in Winter. The trails for half a mile, or even a 
mile, down into the Canyon, during a part of the winter, 
are sometimes covered with light snow. As soon as the snow 
line is passed, the climate begins to change. The cold is 
less penetrating, and by and by one enters what might be 
called a temperate zone. Warmer and more comfortable 
it becomes, until, on reaching the river, the word " deli- 
cious " alone conveys the rich sense of satisfaction that 
one feels all over the body in the delightful sensation ex- 
perienced. No time is so agreeable for a long stay in 
the depths of the Canyon as in the heart of winter. A 
semi-tropical climate below, while above, within three 
hours' easy ride, a snowy winter may be reigning supreme! 

Winter in the Canyon. Robert Brewster Stanton, who 
made his successful trip through the Canyon in winter- 
time, comments on this as follows: " It has been the 



THE CANYON — ABOVE AND BELOW 115 

fortune of but few to travel along the bottom of the great 
chasm for a whole winter, while around you bloom the 
sweet flowers, and southern birds sing on almost every 
bush, and at the same time far above, among the upper 
cliffs, rage and roar, like demons in the air, the grandest 
and most terrific storms of wind and snow and sleet that 
I have ever witnessed, even above the clouds among the 
summit peaks of the Rocky Mountains." 

Change in the Flora. This climatic diversity above and 
below is noticeable all through the year to the man or woman 
of sharp eyes, in the difference of the flowers, the shrubs, 
and the trees. Above are the pines, the cedars, and 
junipers of the cooler climes. The further down one 
goes, the greater the change becomes. The pines drop 
out, then the cedars and junipers, and when one reaches 
the patches of growth in the lowest depths, the agave, and 
other plants and flowers that we find only in semi-tropical 
climates here grow profusely. 

Indian Garden. Another difference between the" above " 
and the " below " is found in the fact that a garden is al- 
most unknown on the rim, and that there are many down 
below. On the Bright Angel Trail is the Indian Garden, 
where, for many years, the Havasupais used to cultivate 
their corn, beans, onions and melons. Along the Shinumo, 
on the north side, Mr. Bass has a garden where all these 
things grow; where peaches, plums, grapes, and apricots 
have thriven abundantly, and where now he is planting 
figs, lemons, oranges and grape-fruit. The Havasupais, 
in the depths of their Canyon, grow the finest, largest and 
most tender corn in the world, peaches and figs galore, 
and all the ordinary vegetables. Boucher also has fruit 
and vegetables on the level near the river, on his trail. 
At Lee's Ferry also, Elder Emet has his gardens and 
orchards, as well as fine alfalfa fields. Nothing is more 
delightful than to come, after a hot journey down the 
trail, to these unexpected oases in the heart of the canyons. 

Soil on the River and in the Canyon. The soil of the 



116 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

" above," too, largely differs from the soil of the " below." 
On the plateaus above, there are millions of acres, most of 
which careful exarnination shows to be covered with dis- 
integrated rock and comparatively little vegetable soil, — 
except below the surface. The winds and rains have car- 
ried away the softer and lighter soil, and allowed the heavier 
and harder rocks to remain. This process goes on all the 
time. In the depths of the Canyon, however, except on the 
steeper slopes, the soil remains. 

The Silence on the Rim. A remarkable contrast between 
the rim and the Canyon is sometimes found in the absolute 
silence above, and the roar of the river below. It often 
occurs that not a sound of any kind can be heard on the 
rim but one's breathing and the beating of his own heart. 
One morning I lay for an hour before I arose, and during 
the whole of that time, though I listened again and again, 
not the slightest sound reached my ears save the two named. 

Song of the River. Now descend to the river and, day or 
night, early or late, June or December, hot or cold, wet or 
dry, fair or stormy, the roar and rush, fret and fume of 
the water is never out of one's ears. Even when asleep 
it seems to " seep " in through the benumbed senses, and 
tell of its never-ending flow. After a few weeks of it, one 
comes away and finds he cannot sleep. He misses it and 
finds himself unable to sleep away from the accustomed 
noise. 

The Wind. In nothino- is the difference of " above " 
and " below " more marked than in the wind. Last night 
on the rim the wind blew almost a gale. The pines sang 
loudly, and one could hear their roar for miles. A dozen 
times I awoke and listened to their weird music. If you go 
out doors, the wind plays with your hair, and tosses gar- 
ments to and fro with frolicsome glee, or even, at times, 
with apparent angry fury. There are times when the 
wind comes toward you, on the rim, with a rapidity and 
force that are startling. Every one has had the experience 
of hearing a military band approaching from a distance. 



THE CANYON — ABOVE AND BELOW 117 

As it comes nearer, the sound grows louder and louder, and 
if it approaches with great rapidity, as for instance, in an 
automobile or a speeding electric car, the music assails 
the ear with an increasing force that is a surprise. It is just 
so with the noises of the wind at the rim of the Canyon. 

Now leave the rim and walk down the trail a couple of 
rods. All is quiet and still. The change is startling in its 
suddenness. The wind may be blowing far above you, 
and if you listen, you will hear its effect in the trees, but 
here, where you stand, you are protected and sheltered. 

Diversity of Color. Perhaps the greatest difference be- 
tween the rim and the interior of the Canyon is found in 
the diversity in color and feature between them. While 
there is a fascination to the long, wide stretches of plateau 
on the rim, and the forest has its attractive points, there 
are not many prominent features (looking away from the 
Canj^on) that would occupy the attention of travellers. 
There is little striking in color, in scenery, in rocky 
contour. Plains, trees, sky, clouds, sunset, — and nearly 
all is said. But immediately one stands on the rim and 
looks below, all is changed. Here is feature after feature 
that compels not only attention but reverent homage. 
Color such as is seen nowhere else in the world on such a 
grand scale; massive walls that have no counterpart; 
rock forms that dazzle and bewilder; and an unfoldment 
of the stone book of creation that is alike a joy and a pain, 
a delight and a sorrow, a something seen at a glance, and 
that requires a lifetime to comprehend. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE HOPI HOUSE 

The Harvey Collection at El Tovar. In the Hopi House, 
opposite the El Tovar entrance, is installed one of the 
most interesting Indian collections of the world, — a 
collection that would grace the National Museum of Great 
Britain, France or Germany. The more intelhgent the 
visitor to the Grand Canyon, the more he will find he can 
learn in this wonderful storehouse provided for his instruc- 
tion and recreation. 

The Hopi House. The building itself is a perfect model 
of a block in the village of Oraibi, one of the seven Hopi 
pueblos. It is three stories high, and contains many rooms. 
The original is supposed to accommodate forty-five families. 
It is built of the chips of sandstone and other rock in ac- 
cordance with Hopi custom, rudely and irregularly laid 
in mortar. It is of the terraced style of architecture, each 
story receding from the one below it, so that the " second 
story front " finds a ready courtyard on the roof of the 
" first story front," and the " third story front " on that 
of the " second story front." 

Houses that were Forts. In the old houses, found when 
the white man first visited the pueblos, there was no means 
of entrance to the first stories save by means of the ladders 
which stood outside against the walls, and thence through 
hatchways made in the roofs. This was for the purpose 
of defence against hostile tribes, who were constantly 
warring with these home-loving Indians in order that they 
might steal from them the fruits of their persistent labor 



THE HOPI HOUSE 119 

and thrift. The ladder, during times of expected attack, 
could be lifted upon the second story, out of reach, and thus 
these houses became the forts of their inhabitants. Nowa- 
days entrances are provided on the ground floor, and this 
house at El Tovar follows the modern custom, as well 
as the later innovation (which of course is essential in this 
building) of using glass for windows. For convenience and 
safety, another anachronism is tolerated in the electric 
light. In practically everything else, the building is a true 
model of a Hopi community house. With these people, 
the women are generally and mainly the builders of the 
houses, the men merely assisting in the heavier work. 

Quaint Stairways. In addition to the quaint ladders, 
quainter steps, cut into flat or round trunks of Cottonwood 
trees, are used. Stone steps connecting the two upper 
stories, are also built outside in the partition walls. The 
chimneys are constructed, in true pueblo fashion, of pot- 
tery water ollas, the bottoms of which have been broken 
out. Three or more of these, fastened with cement or 
mortar, are placed one above another. On the roofs are 
wood piles, as at Oraibi, and also picturesque strings of 
red peppers drying in the sun. 

Navaho Silversmith. The entrance doorway is low, and 
the steps lead one down into the first room, in true Oraibi 
style. This room is occupied by the Tinne peshlikai, or 
Navaho silversmith, and Navaho blanket weavers. The 
smith, though using some modern tools, still follows the 
time-honored methods of his brother craftsmen. The 
silverware he makes will be more fully described in the 
special chapter devoted to the subject, as will also the 
blanket weaving of his wife and children. 

Details of Construction. In this room there are several 
features of interest. First notice the construction of the 
building. The" roof is supported by a massive upright, 
in a crotch, or V, on which the cross rafters rest. Lesser 
poles are placed upon these at right angles, which in turn 
support arrow-weed, willows, and other light brush. In 



120 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

the genuine Hopi construction, mud is then plastered or 
laid thickly over these willows; but as these rooms contain 
valuable collections of goods, a modern roofing has been 
used, which, however, does not in any way detract from 
the " realness " of the building. 

Fireplace. In the corner is one of the quaint hooded 
fireplaces, with the raised hearth, exactly similar to several 
I have sat before in Oraibi, while my hospitable hostess 
prepared some Hopi delicacy or substantial food to tickle 
the palate or appease the hunger of her welcomed guest. 

Mealing Stones. On the left is a quartet of corn-grinders, 
walled in from the floor by stone slabs laid in cement. In 
every pueblo house, a " battery " of these mealing stones 
is to be found, and it is one of the commonest of sights 
to find the women and girls on their knees, with the grinder 
in hands, rubbing it briskly up and down with the swing 
of the body, while every few moments, with a deft movement 
of the hand, the grain is thrown between the grinder and 
the stone beneath. The motion reminds one much of that 
required over the washing board. While thus at work, 
the Pueblo women sing some of their sweetest songs. 

Hair Dressing. Occasionally when a Hopi mother, whose 
daughter has reached maidenhood, is located in the Hopi 
House, one may chance to find her engaged in turning the 
heavy black hair of her " mana " into the big whorls 
on the side of her head which are the Hopi emblem of 
maidenhood and purity. The mother herself wears her 
hair in two pendant rolls. These are the symbols of fruit- 
fulness and chastity. 

It is interesting also to see them make piki, a process 
elsewhere fully described. 

Various Baskets. In the various rooms on the ground 
floor, the observing and curious will find quite a number of 
quaint architectural devices. The chief attractions to 
most visitors are the various Indian goods. There are 
baskets made by every Indian tribe in North America, — 
Navaho wedding baskets made by Paiutes and used also 




HOPI HOUSE. GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA. 

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Copyright by Detroit Plwtographic Co. 
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ZIG-ZAGS AT HEAD OF ISRICIIT ANGEL TRAIL 
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THE HOPI HOUSE 121 

by Apaches as medicine baskets; Havasupai, Pima, Hopi, 
and Katchina plaques; Hupa and Poma carrying baskets; 
Haida, Makah, Mescalero, Apache, Mission, Chime- 
huevi, Washoe, and a score of others. Here are pinion- 
covered water-bottles of Navaho (tusjeh), Havasupai 
(esuwa), and Apache (tis-il-lah-hah). Note the vast 
difference in the native names for practically the same 
thing. 

Hopi Katchinas. The Hopi Ethnologic Collection 
(on second floor) is the best in the world, with the exception 
of the collection in the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago. 
In this collection are a large number of katchina dolls. Of 
these katchinas much might be written. They are ancient 
ancestral representatives of certain Hopi clans who, as 
spirits of the dead, are endowed with powers to aid the 
living members of the clan in material ways. The clans, 
therefore, pray to them that these material blessings may 
be given. " It is an almost universal idea of primitive 
man," says Fewkes, " that prayers should be addressed 
to personations of the beings worshipped. In the carry- 
ing out of this conception men personate the katchinas, 
wearing masks, and dressing in the costumes character- 
istic of these beings. These personations represent to the 
Hopi mind their idea of the appearance of these katchinas 
or clan ancients. The spirit beings represented in these 
personations appear at certain times in the pueblo, dancing 
before spectators, receiving prayer for needed blessings, 
as rain and good crops." 

Powamu and Niman. The katchinas are supposed 
to come to the earth from the underworld in February 
and remain until July, when they say farewell. Hence 
there are two specific times which dramatically celebrate 
the arrival and departure of the katchinas. The former 
of these times is called by the Hopi Powamu, and the latter 
Niman. At these festivals, or merry dances, certain mem- 
bers of the participating clans wear masks representing 
the katchinas, hence katchina masks are often to be found 



122 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

in Hopi houses when one is privileged to see the treasures 
stored away. In order to instruct the children in the many 
katchinas of the Hopi pantheon, tihus, or dolls, are made 
in imitation of the ancestral supernal beings, and these 
quaint and curious toys are eagerly sought after by those 
interested in Indian life and thought. Dr. Fewkes has 
in his private collection over two hundred and fifty differ- 
ent katchina tihus, and in the Field Columbian Museum 
there is an even larger collection. 

Katchina Baskets. For use in the katchina dances, 
katchina baskets are made, and if one were to start a 
collection of all the katchina baskets of the Hopi, he could 
look forward to possessing, in time, as large a number as 
Dr. Fewkes has of katchina dolls. 

Indian Pottery. Hopi, Acoma, Santa Clara, Zuni and 
other pottery abounds side by side with Navaho blankets, 
war clubs, bridles, quirts, moccasins, Sioux beadwork, 
pouches, and baby-carrying baskets. Not only can the 
Navaho women be found weaving blankets, but, what 
comparatively few white persons have ever seen, in one 
of the rooms is a Hopi man weaving a blanket, which I 
question could be told from a Navaho, even by an expert, 
unless he saw it woven. In another room, the Hopi's 
wife is making pottery. 

During the day-time, when required, the attendants 
will gladly show visitors the collection of rarer curios on 
the second floor. An anachronism introduced here, to 
meet modern requirements, is the indoor stairway, but 
one excuses it for the sake of the interesting, symbolic, 
katchina figures that have been painted on the staircase 
walls. 

Mexican Antiques. Here one room is devoted to Mexican 
antiques, — candlesticks, crucifixes, paintings, tapestry, 
bells, incense-burners, wooden plow, a model of the ancient 
caretta, chairs, daggers, etc. 

Alaska Room. The Alaska Room contains models of 
totem poles, carvings on ivory and wood, boats, snow- 



THE HOPI HOUSE 123 

shoes, shields, baskets of several varieties, Haida hats, 
etc. 

Ancient Blankets. The Old Blanket Room contains an 
assortment of the rarer and older Navaho, Mexican and 
Chimillo blankets, some of which are in the exquisite old 
colors used before modern aniline dyes were known. Scat- 
tered about also are some rare pieces of ancient pottery 
in black and white, dug out from ruins in Arizona and New 
Mexico. 

Hopi Altar Room. By far the most interesting room in the 
house to the thoughtful inquirer is the Hopi Altar Room. 
Here are two reproductions of altars made by the ethnolo- 
gist. Rev. H. R. Voth, who was led to his study of the Hopi 
while a Mennonite missionary to the Oraibi pueblo. These 
altars are thus described by him: 

Tao Altar. One of the fraternities among the Hopi In- 
dians of Arizona is the Tao or Singer Society. Such altars 
are erected in connection with the sacred and secret cere- 
monies in underground rooms or kivas in the different Hopi 
villages. Around these altars the priests arrange them- 
selves, squatting on the floor, during their ceremonies, and 
engage in singing, sprinkling of sacred meal, smoking, 
asperging of sacred water, etc. Here they prepare their 
prayer offerings, utter their prayers, and practise numerous 
other religious rites. 

Of the slabs and sticks in the ridge of the altar those of 
a zigzag form represent lightning, which is supposed to 
emanate from clouds, which are represented by the ter- 
raced parts on top of the slabs. The flat slabs symbolize 
stalks of corn, with ears of corn carved on them. The thin 
sticks are supposed to represent the departed members 
of the society. 

In front of the slabs are seen four bahos or prayer sticks, 
composed of two short sticks, a turkey feather, two kinds 
of herbs, and corn-husk pocket containing sacred meal and 
honey. The object to the right, and in front of the ridge, 
is the tipone or sacred badge of the society. It usually 



124 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

consists of an ear of corn, wound with cotton twine, and 
having on its top feathers of different birds; to its sides are 
tied sundry pieces of shell, turquoise, and other objects. 

In front of the altar stands a medicine bowl, which is 
surrounded by six ears of corn, — a yellow one on the north 
side, a dark bluish one on the west side, a red one south, a 
white one east, a black one on the northeast (representing 
above), and sweet corn ear on the southwest (representing 
below). From this bowl, sacred water is asperged, and from 
a meal tray sacred meal is sprinkled on the altar during 
ceremonies. 

Powamu Altar. In the centre of the Powamu Altar is 
the framework. The four scenic circles on and over the 
head-piece represent clouds, and the symbol on the uprights 
blossoms, clouds, falling rain, etc. The larger of the idols 
within the framework represents Chowilawn, the God of 
Germination and Growth, the smaller one, Sotukonangwun, 
the God of Thunder, and the small, black figurine to the 
left of the framework is the representation of Pookong, the 
God of War. Between these idols stand numerous slabs, 
the zigzag formed representing lightning, the straight ones 
stalks of corn, etc. On each side of the altar proper stands 
a large wooden tablet, on which is drawn a picture of the 
Hiv. Katchina, a personage that figures conspicuously in 
the ceremony on the sixth day, in which children are initi- 
ated into the Katchina order. On this occasion masked 
and gorgeously dressed men, who are supposed to be rep- 
resented by these pictures, flog these small candidates for 
initiation. 

In front of the altar may be seen a square, sand picture, 
containing cloud symbols, prayer offerings, blossoms, etc. 
Between this sand mosaic and the altar proper are rattles, 
a medicine bowl, ears of corn, meal trays, eagle feathers, 
and other objects. 

The large object at the extreme left, consisting of a ter- 
raced tablet at the top, several zigzag sticks, and a stand 
at the bottom, represents clouds and lightning. The tablet 



THE HOPI HOUSE 125 

and also the drawing in the upper part of it represent 
clouds, the crooked sticks Hghtning, and the two circular 
drawings, in the lower part of the tablet, symbolize blos- 
soms. The small idol between two of the sticks is a figurine 
of Chowilawn. 

The symbol to the right of the altar on the back wall, 
consisting of several semicircles, is that of towering rain 
clouds, with two rays of lightning emanating upward from 
it. The small, black lines on the lower border represent 
rain. To the left of the altar, on the same wall, appears the 
typical Hopi sun symbol, and on the left side wall that of 
the mythical water serpent, Balolookang. All of these 
wall pictures, however, are not an essential part of the altar. 

This altar, like the one of the Tao Society, was repro- 
duced by Mr. Voth. One of the subjects of his study was 
this altar and the various ceremonies connected with it, 
and while he was making these studies he succeeded in 
obtaining the photographs, drawings, measurements, notes, 
etc., from which he reproduced this elaborate piece of 
sacred Hopi ceremonial paraphernalia. 

Hopi Door. The door itself leading into this Altar Room 
is an interesting antique. It is a real Hopi door, brought 
from Oraibi, and supposed to be not less than one hundred 
and fifty years old. Its quaint method of swinging, the 
way it is put together and fastened with nothing but raw- 
hide thongs, reveals, as few things could, the interesting 
inventions of necessity. Prior to their knowledge and use 
of doors, which they undoubtedly gained from the Mexi- 
cans, their doorways were closed by slabs of rock, as de- 
scribed in the chapter on " The First Discoverers and In- 
habitants of the Grand Canyon." Those who have read 
that chapter will find many things of especial interest in 
this fascinating house. 

Value of Hopi House. The Hopi House is in itself a 
liberal education in the customs, arts, history, mythology, 
religious ceremonials, and industries of not only one, but 
many tribes of Indians. It is not only a good business in- 



126 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

vestment, but a place of benefit to which one should go pre- 
pared intelligently to study. Such an one will come away 
with a keen appreciation of the incomparable ethnological 
advantages this building affords him, and he will not grudge 
any purchase, however large, the attractiveness of the 
display has led him to indulge in. 

Dances in the Hopi House. Every evening throughout 
the year, when a sufficient number of visitors are present 
to justify it, the Indians of the Hopi House give a few brief 
dances and songs, which faintly suggest the style of some of 
their more elaborate ceremonials. 



CHAPTER XVI 

VISITING INDIANS AT EL TOVAR 

It is seldom that the traveler will find less than three 
Indian tribes of distinct family represented at or near 
El Tovar. In the Hopi House, as is shown, there are 
Hopis and Navahos, and in their camp near by there will 
generally be found a band of Havasupais from Havasu 
(Cataract) Canyon, making baskets or dressing buckskin. 

To most people an Indian is an Indian, yet there is such 
a wondeiful difference between these three peoples, in 
features, language, habits, rehgion, social customs and 
life, that a short comparison cannot fail to be of interest 
and profit. 

The Hopi Indian. The Hopis belong to the people 
popularly spoken of as " pueblos," but this name signifies 
nothing more than town Indians, as distinguished from the 
nomad or wandering tribes. They belong to the great 
Shoshonean family, and are a short, stocky, gentle people, 
given to agriculture, sheep raising, basketry and pottery, 
and a little weaving and silver work. 

The Navaho Race. The Navahos, on the other hand, are 
of Athabascan stock, coming from the north, and are blood 
brothers of the Tinnehs of Alaska, and the fierce and 
warlike Apaches of Southern Arizona. They are natural 
horsemen, raising great herds of their wiry, active, hardy 
ponies, as well as herds of sheep and goats. These are 
the chief industries of their men, and the women are the 
most skilled blanket-weavers in the world. 

The Havasupais. The Havasupais are of still an- 



128 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

other stock. They belong to the Yuman family, and are 
kin to the Wallapais, the Mohaves, Yumas and Cocopahs 
of the Colorado River. 

Comparison of Three Races. In appearance, the Hopi 
and Havasupai are more alike than either are like to the 
Navaho. As a rule, the Hopi is well built and stalwart, 
with the unmistakable Indian face, but with less coarse 
and sensual lips, higher and more intellectual brow, more 
alert and kindly eye, and stronger chin than the Havasupai. 
The lobes of the nostril are wide and flexible, showing 
the wonderful lung power of this great running people. 

The Navaho shows, in the build of his flexible body, 
that he is a horseman, a rider. His face is one of the 
strongest of Indian types, and is distinctive and easily 
recognizable, as a rule. With high cheek bones, strong 
square jaws, flexible, thin lips, large, limpid eyes and ex- 
pansive brows, the tribe shows a high order of intelligence, 
and while at rest, their faces are kindly and inviting. There 
is a flash in the eye when aroused that denotes great pride, 
absolute fearlessness and hatred of control. It is a race of 
warriors, a race that for two centuries harried the Spaniards 
as well as the gentle Hopi, whom they regarded as their 
legitimate prey. 

Costumes of Hopi Men. In dress, these three peoples are 
distinctive, though in these days of part civilization and close 
contact with the whites, the true Indian costume is being 
discarded for the conventional dress of the latter. The 
Hopi men generally wear the true pueblo costume. In 
olden days, it was the buckskin shirt and trousers, with a 
blanket over all. Now, the trousers are generally of white 
calico, with a slit on the sides from the knee down. A 
calico shirt is worn. The stockings are of blue wool, 
without feet. Moccasins, with a sole of thick^ rawhide 
and uppers of dressed buckskin, are worn. The invariable 
silk handkerchief, or red bandana " banda " surrounds the 
hair, which is cut long, generally long enough barely to 
reach the shoulders. 




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VIEW HOTEL. 
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VISITING INDIANS AT EL TOVAR 129 

Costumes of Hopi Women. The women's native dress 
is most picturesque, and far more adhered to than that 
of the men. The main dress is a well-woven blanket of 
deep blue, sometimes with slight red decoration, which 
is fastened over the left shoulder and down the left side. 
The right shoulder is left bare, unless, as invariably is the 
case with the Indians who associate much with the whites, 
a light calico shirt is worn under the dress. It reaches 
to below the knees, and is encircled around the waist by 
a broad home-woven sash, which is wrapped two or three 
times around the body, and has the end carelessly tucked 
in. The feet are covered with moccasins, to which are 
attached swathings of buckskin, which are wrapped around 
and around the legs, until they are as large as ordinary 
sized stovepipes. The hair is worn in peculiar fashion, 
that symbolizes the social condition of the wearer. At 
puberty a maiden is required by the inflexible rule of the 
tribe to dress her hair in two great whorls — one over each 
ear — called " nashmi." These are in imitation of the 
squash blossom, which is the Hopi symbol of maidenhood 
and purity. When she marries, she must change the fashion 
of dressing the hair into two pendant rolls, in imitation of 
the fruit of the squash, which is their emblem or symbol 
for matronhood and chastity. 

Navaho Men's Coshunes. The old time Navaho men 
wear the white calico trousers, slit up the side, and a shirt, 
either of colored calico or of some kind of velvet cloth. 
On the feet are moccasins, and the stockings are the same 
footless kind as worn by the Hbpi, fastened below the 
knee with a wide garter. This is made in the same style 
as the sashes which the Hopi and Navaho women wear 
around their waists, but is neither so broad nor so long. 
The hair is either allowed to flow loosely over the shoulders, 
or is arranged in a kind of square knot at the back of the 
head. As a basis for this knot, a hairpin made of bone, 
from three to five inches long, smoothed almost flat, with 
beveled or rounded edges, and often rudely carved, is used. 



130 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Around this knot a sash similar to a garter is generally 
wrapped to secure it. The universal banda is worn around 
the head to help bind the hair, and keep it away from the 
forehead. 

Navaho Women's Costume. The women wear a brown, 
green, or red velvet shirt, with a " squaw dress " beautifully 
woven of deep blue cotton, with a conventionally designed 
red border. Around the waist the wide sash, before de- 
scribed, is wound. This dress is both skiit and waist, but 
of late years those women who live in or near our civilization 
discard their native dress, and wear a skirt of calico, with 
the velvet shirt. 

The Havasupai Dress. The Havasupai men and women 
now wear as near the conventional dress of our race as 
their means will allow. When I first knew them, the men 
seldom wore more than a pair of moccasins and a breech- 
cloth in summer, with buckskin shirt and trousers, and a 
Navaho blanket over the shoulders in winter. The con- 
ventional dress of the women at that time was a skirt 
made of shredded cedar bark, which was suspended from 
the waist to below the knees, without shirt or shirt-waist. 
In winter, a Navaho blanket was worn over the shoulders. 
Both men and women still wear the inevitable moccasins, 
though the " civilized " members of the tribe buy their 
shoes at the white man's store in Williams, Ash Fork or 
Seligman. The women generally bang their hair across, 
about the center of the forehead, and then allow the rest 
of the hair to hang loose. It is a great insult to a Havasupai 
woman to ask her to throw back her hair from her cheeks, 
and to do it oneself is a serious offense. 

Language. In language, these people are as diff'erent 
one from another as are the Turks, the Esquimaux and the 
French. Even in the simplest words these diff'erences are 
marked. Take a few comparisons. For good the Hopi 
says lolomai, the Navaho yatehay and the Havasupai 
harnegie. Bad in Hopi is ka-lolomai (not good), Navaho 
da shonda (of the evil one), Havasupai han -a-to-opo-gi. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE NAVAHO AND HOPI BLANKET WEAVERS 

What a marvelous art is that of weaving, and how much 
the human race of today owes to the patient endeavors of 
the " httle brown woman " of the past for the perfection to 
which she brought this, — one of the most primitive of the 
arts. 

Blanketry was a necessary outcome of basketry. The 
use of flexible twigs for baskets readily suggested the use of 
pliable fibres for textiles; and there is little question that 
almost simultaneously with the first rude baskets the first 
textile fabrics made their appearance. 

Whence the art had its origin we do not know. But it is 
a matter of record that in this country, three hundred and 
fifty years ago, when the Spanish first came into what is 
now United States territory, they found the art of weaving 
in a well advanced stage among the domestic and sedentary 
Pueblo Indians, and the wild and nomadic Navahos. 
Scientists who have given the question careful study, hold 
that the cotton of these blankets was grown by these Ari- 
zona Indians from time immemorial, and they also used the 
tough fibres of the yucca and agave leaves and the hairs of 
various wild animals, either separately or with the cotton. 
Their processes of weaving were exactly the same then as 
they are today, there being but slight difference between the 
methods followed before the advent of the whites and after- 
ward. Hence, in a study of the Indian blanket, as it is 
made today, we are approximately nearly to the pure 
aboriginal method of pre-Columbian times. 



132 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Archaeologists and ethnologists generally assume that the 
art of weaving on the loom was learned by the Navahos 
from their Pueblo neighbors. All the facts in the case seem 
to bear out this supposition. Yet, as is well known, the 
Navahos are a part of the great Athabascan family, which 
has scattered, by separate migrations, from Alaska into 
California, Arizona and New Mexico. Many of the Alas- 
kans are good weavers, and according to Navaho traditions, 
their ancestors, when they came into the country, wore 
blankets that were made of cedar bark and yucca fibre. 
Even in the Alaska (Thlinket) blankets, made today of the 
wool of the white mountain goat, cedar bark is twisted 
in with the wool of the warp. Why, then, should not the 
Navaho woman have brought the art of weaving, possibly in 
a very primitive stage, from her original Alaskan home ? 
That her art, however, has been improved by her contact 
with the Pueblo and other Indians, there can be no ques- 
tion, and, if she had a crude loom, it was speedily replaced 
by the one so long used by the Pueblo. Where the Pueblo 
weaver gained her loom we do not know, whether from the 
tribes of the South or by her own invention. But in all 
practical ways the primitive loom was as complete and 
perfect at the time of the Spanish conquest as it is today. 

Any loom, to be complete, must possess certain qualifi- 
cations. As Dr. Mason has well said : " In any style of 
mechanical weaving, however simple or complex, even 
in darning, the following operations are performed: First, 
raising and lowering alternately diflPerent sets of warp fila- 
ments to form the ' sheds '; second, throwing the shuttle, 
or performing some operation that amounts to the same 
thing; third, after inserting the weft thread, driving it home, 
and adjusting it by means of the batten, be it the needle, 
the finger, the shuttle or a separate device." 

Indian looms are made of four poles cut from trees that 
line the nearest stream or grow in the mountain forests. Two 
of these poles are forked for uprights, and the cross beams 
are lashed to them above and below. Sometimes the lower 



NAVAHO AND HOPI BLANKET WEAVERS 133 

beam is dispensed with and wooden pegs driven into the 
earth instead. The warp is then arranged on beams lashed 
to the top and bottom of the frame by means of a rawhide 
or horse-hair riata. Our Western word lariat is merely a 
corruption of lariata. Thus the warp is made tight and is 
ready for the nimble fingers of the weaver. Her shuttles are 
pieces of smooth, round sticks upon the ends of which 
she winds yarn. Small balls of yarn are frequently made 
to serve this purpose. By her side is a crude wooden comb 
with which she strikes a few stitches into place. When 
she wishes to wedge the yarn for a complete row — from 
side to side — she uses a flat broad stick, one edge of which 
is sharpened almost to knife-like keenness. This is called 
the " batten." With the design in her brain her busy and 
skilful fingers produce the pattern as she desires it, there 
being no sketch from which she may copy. In weaving a 
blanket of intricate pattern and many colors the weaver 
finds it easier to open the few warp threads needed with her 
fingers and then thrust between them the small balls of 
yarn, rather than bother with a shuttle, no matter how 
simple. 

Before blankets can be made the wool must be cut from 
the sheep, cleaned, carded, spun and dyed. It is one of the 
interesting sights of the southwest region to see a flock 
of sheep and goats running together, watched over, perhaps, 
by a lad of ten or a dozen years, or by a woman who is 
ultimately to weave the fleeces they carry into substantial 
blankets. After the fleece has been sheared, the Navaho 
woman proceeds to wash it. Then it is combed with hand 
cards, — small flat implements with wire teeth, purchased 
from the traders. (These and the shears are the only mod- 
ern implements used.) The dyeing is often done before the 
spinning but generally after. The spindle used is merely 
a slender stick thrust through a circular disc of wood. In 
spite of the fact that the Navahos have seen the spinning 
wheels in use by the Mexicans and Mormons, they have 
never cared either to make or adopt them. Their conserva- 



134 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

tism preserves the ancient, slow and laborious method. 
The Navahos live on a reservation which covers several 
hundred square miles, extending along the northern borders 
of New Mexico and Arizona where few travelers go. They 
do not live in villages or settlements and their homes are so 
scattered that one may travel a whole day without finding 
a woman at work with her loom. Day after day, however, 
one may see the carding, spinning and weaving processes 
in the Hopi House at El Tovar, where a little colony of 
Navahos is maintained. 

Holding the spindle in the right hand, the point of the 
short end below the balancing disc resting on the ground 
and the long end on her knee, the spinner attaches the end 
of her staple close to the disc and then gives the spindle 
a rapid twirl. As it revolves she holds the yarn out so that 
it twists. As it tightens sufficiently she allows it to wrap 
on the spindle and repeats the operation until the spindle 
is full. The spinning is done loosely or tightly, according 
to the fineness of the weave required in the blanket. 

The quality and value of a Navaho blanket is governed 
largely by the fineness of the weave. The yarn in some of 
the cheaper qualities now made is often coarse and loosely 
spun, and the warp, or chain, which has much to do with the 
life of a blanket, may be improperly spun and of uneven 
strength. A blanket of a given size may be made in two 
weeks, or in four, or in two months, according to the quality 
of the work and the skill of the weaver. Next in importance 
to the fineness of the weave is the proper blending of colors. 
Though a woman may have the highest skill in her primi- 
tive art, she must take time to study out the color scheme 
for her blanket. These are the principal factors, but there 
are others which enter into the making of a blanket, and 
the finer the product of the loom the more difficult the work 
becomes. 

There are still a limited number of very fine blankets 
made. The number is governed largely by the demand. 

In the original or natural colors there are white, brown, 



NAVAHO AND HOPI BLANKET WEAVERS 135 

gray and black; the latter rather a grayish black, or better 
still, as Mathews describes it, " rusty." Many of the best 
blankets now produced are of these natural colors, with 
sometimes a touch of red. 

There are certain Navaho blankets much sought after by 
the collector, especially those rare old specimens made of 
purely native dye, the colors of which have softened into har- 
monious tones. These have not been made for many years 
past and most of the specimens in perfect state of preserva- 
tion that are in existence were obtained from Mexican 
families where they had been handed down from genera- 
tion to generation as heirlooms. Often in these old speci- 
mens the red figures were made of bayeta. As Mason says: 
" The word ' bayeta ' is nothing but the simple Spanish 
for the English ' baize ' and is spelled * bayeta ' and not 
' balleta ' or * valeta.' " Formerly bayeta was a regular 
article of commerce. It was generally sold by the rod and 
not by the pound. Now, however, the duty is so high that 
its importation is practically prohibited. 

This bayeta or baize was unravelled and the Indian woman 
often retwisted the warp to make it firmer. She then re- 
wove it into her incomparable blankets. 

From the earliest days the Navahos have been expert 
dyers, their colors being black, brick-red, russet, blue, yellow, 
and a greenish yellow akin to an old gold shade. 

There is abundant evidence that they formerly had a blue 
dye, but indigo, originally introduced probably by the Mexi- 
cans, has superceded this. If in former days they had a 
native blue or yellow they must of necessity have had a 
green. They now make green of their native yellow and 
indigo, the latter being the only imported dye stuff in use 
among them. 

To make the black dye three ingredients were used: 
yellow ochre, pinion gum and the leaves and twigs of the 
aromatic sumac (rhus aromatica). The ochre is pulverized 
and roasted until it becomes a light brown, when it is 
removed from the fire and mixed with an equal quantity of 



136 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

pinion gum. This mixture is then placed on the fire and 
as the roasting continues it first becomes mushy, then darker 
as it dries until nothing but a fine black powder remains. 
This powder is called " keyh-batch." In the meantime 
the sumac leaves and twigs are being boiled. Five or six 
hours are required to fully extract the juices, \\hen both 
are cooled they are mixed and immediately a rich, bluish- 
black fluid called " ele-gee-batch " is formed. 

For yellow dye the tops of a flowering weed (Bigelovia 
graveolens) are boiled for hours until the liquid assumes a 
deep yellow color. As soon as the extraction of color juices 
is complete the dyer takes some native alum (almogen) 
and heats it over the fire. When it becomes pasty 
she generally adds it to the boiling concoction, which 
slowly becomes of the required yellow color, — " kayel- 
soly-batch." 

The brick red dye, " says-tozzie-batch," is extracted from 
the bark and the roots of the sumac, and ground alder bark, 
with the ashes of the juniper as a mordant. She now im- 
merses the wool and allows it to remain in the dye for half 
an hour or an hour. 

Whence come the designs incorporated by these simple 
weavers into their blankets, sashes and dresses ? In this 
as in basketry and pottery, the answer is found in nature. 
Many of their textile designs suggest a derivation from 
basketry ornamentation, which originally came from nature. 
The angular, curveless figures of interlying plaits pre- 
dominate and the principal subjects are the same — con- 
ventional devices representing clouds, stars, lightning, the 
rainbow, and emblems of the deities. These simple forms 
are produced in endless combination and often in brilliant, 
kaleidoscopic grouping, sometimes representing broad 
effects of scarlet, black, green, yellow, and blue upon scarlet, 
and the wide ranges of color skilfully blended upon a 
ground of white. The centre of the fabric is frequently 
occupied with tessellated or lozenge patterns of multi- 
colored sides; or divided into panels of contrasting colors. 



NAVAHO AND HOPI BLANKET WEAVERS 137 

in which different designs appear. Some display sym- 
metric zigzags, converging and spreading throughout their 
length. In others bands of high color are defined by zones 
of neutral tints, or parted by thin, bright lines into a check- 
ered mosaic. In many only the most subdued shades ap- 
pear. Fine effects are obtained by using a short gray wool 
in its natural state, to form the body of the fabric in solid 
color, upon which figures in black, white and red are in- 
troduced. Sometimes blankets are woven in narrow stripes 
of black and deep blue with borders relieved in tinted me- 
anders along the sides and ends, or a central figure in the 
dark body with the design repeated in a diagonal panel at 
each corner. 

The greatest charm of these primitive fabrics is the 
unrestrained freedom of the weaver in her treatment of 
primitive conventions. To the checkered emblem of the 
rainbow she adds sweeping rays of color, typifying sun- 
beams. Below the many angled cloud group she inserts 
random pencil lines of rain; or she often softens the rigid 
lines signifying lightning, with graceful interlacing and 
shaded tints. Not confining herself alone to these tradi- 
tional devices, she often creates realistic figures of common 
objects such as her grass brush, wooden weaving fork, a 
stalk of corn, a bow, an arrow or a plume of feathers from a 
dancer's mask. Although the same characteristic styles 
of weaving and decoration are general, none of the larger 
designs are ever reproduced with exactness. Every fabric 
carries some distinct variation or suggestion of the occasion 
of its making. 

Among the Navahos the women invariably do the weaving 
though in the past a few men were experts in the art. Among 
the Pueblo Indians the men perform this work. The prod- 
ucts of the Pueblo looms are readily distinguishable from 
those of the Navahos, the latter having far out-distanced 
the Pueblos in the excellence of their work. Only among 
the Hopi, are blankets made that in any way resemble the 
•yv^ork of the Navahos. Generally a Hopi man weaver can 



138 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

be found at work in the Hopi House, as well as Navaho 
women weavers. 

The Hopi to this day preserve the custom of wearing a 
bridal costume completely woven out of cotton. After the 
wedding breakfast the groom's father " takes some native 
cotton and, running through the village, distributes it among 
the relations and friends of the family. They pick the seeds 
from the cotton and return it. A few days later a crier 
announces from the roof of a house that on a certain day 
the cotton for the bridal costume will be spun in the kivas." 
Here the friends assemble and " the rasping of the carding 
combs and the buzzing of the primitive spindles " are heard 
accompanied by singing, joking and laughing of the crowd. 
This cotton is then woven either by the bridegroom or his 
father or other male relation, into square blankets, one 
measuring about 60 by 72 inches, the other about 50 by 60 
inches, also a sash with long knotted fringes at each end. 
When woven they are given a coating of wet kaolin, which 
adds to their whiteness. 

This preparation of garments often takes several weeks, 
during which time the young married couple reside at the 
home of the groom's parents. Now the bride, with consider- 
able simple ceremony, walks with one of the robes on, and 
the other in a reed wrapper, to her mother's house where, 
unless her husband has prepared a separate home for them, 
they continue to reside. In the Field Columbian Museum, 
Chicago, is a fine model showing the young bride wearing 
her new garment, going to her mother's home. 

In their ceremonial dances, the Hopi women wear cotton 
blankets, highly embroidered at the sides and edges with 
red, green, and black wool. Fine specimens may be found 
in the Hopi House. Similar to these in style, though long 
and narrow in shape, are the ceremonial kilts or sashes ot 
the men. In pictures showing the march of the Antelope 
Priests during the Hopi Snake Dance these beautiful sashes 
are well depicted. 

In addition to the products of the vertical loom, the Na- 




Hance & Mast, Photos. 

HOPI HOUSE, FIRST FLOOR INTERIOR. 
Page us 




Copyright by Detroit Photographie Co. 
HOPI INDIAN BLANKET WEAVER, HOPI HOUSE. 




-.^^ -iA-.^^'ji^. 



NAVAHO AND HOPI BLANKET WEAVERS 139 

vaho and Pueblo women weave a variety of smaller articles 
all of which are remarkable for their strength, durability 
and striking designs. 

In weaving sashes, belts, hair bands, garters, etc., the 
weaver uses a " heddle frame " similar to those found in 
Europe and New England. None of these have been found 
in places that assure us of their use before the Spanish occu- 
pation, so we conclude that they were introduced by the 
conquistadores or the early colonists about 350 years ago. 

The Thlinkets of Alaska, also, are good weavers. In 
the Fred Harvey collection in the Hopi House, El Tovar, 
and Albuquerque, the United States National Museum 
and the Museum of Princeton University, fine collections 
of their work are to be seen. These collections generally 
consist of cape and body blankets made of the wool of the 
white mountain-goat. The colors are white, black, blue 
and yellow. The black is a rich sepia, obtained from the 
devil-fish; the blue and yellow colors coming from two barks 
grown in the Alexandrian archipelago. The white is the 
native color and the fringe of both cape and blanket is 
undyed. To strengthen and give solidity to the garment, 
the fibrous bark of the yellow root is twisted into the warp. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

PUEBLO AND NAVAHO POTTERY AND SILVERWARE 

Primitive Processes. The primitive industries of a 
primitive people are always interesting to the student. 
They are more; they often reveal more than appears at 
first sight. We, with our present knowledge of improved 
mechanical methods, stand and watch an Indian silver- 
smith or potter, and we laugh at the crudity of the methods 
employed, naturally comparing them with our own. But 
this is not the proper way to look upon the work of the 
aborigine. Rather let the gazer imagine himself without 
any of his advanced knowledge. Let him project himself 
into past ages, and find himself groping his way out 
of the darkness of primitive Ignorance. He will find him- 
self seeking for many centuries, ere he invents and dis- 
covers even the rude processes used today by the Indian. 
As an inventor, the aborigine has laid us under great 
obligation, for he discovered the first steps of mechanical 
progress, without which all later steps would have been 
impossible. 

Hopi Pottery. In the Hopi House, the processes of 
making pottery and silverware by primitive methods may 
be seen in active operation, though in the manufacture 
of silver, some modern appliances have taken the place of 
the ancient ones. In the pottery, however, everything is 
exactly as it used to be before the white race appeared on 
the American continent. The Hopi woman brings her 
clay with her from some pit or quarry in Hopiland, where 
experience has demonstrated a good pottery clay is found. 



PUEBLO AND NAVAHO POTTERY 141 

After thoroughly washing, pulverizing and crushing, it 
is ready to be worked up into domestic and other utensils. 
Squatted upon the ground, the potter places in her lap a 
small basket, wood, or pottery base, upon which she 
places a " dab " of clay. This she thumbs and pats, 
until it forms the basis of the new vessel. Then another 
piece of clay is rapidly rolled between her hands, until it 
is in the form of a long rope. This rope is then coiled 
around the edge of the base already made, pressed well 
into it and then smoothed down. After four or five coils of 
clay are thus added, the potter takes a small " spat," 
generally a piece of dried gourd skin, dips it into water, 
and proceeds to smooth out and make thin the clay coils. 
As quickly and dexterously as can be, her hands and the 
spat manipulate the vessel, until it has the desired shape. 
More coils of clay are then added, and the shaping con- 
tinues until the vessel is complete. Now it is put out into 
the sun to dry, and when reasonably solid, it is ready for 
the painting and decoration. With a rude brush made of 
horsehair or yucca fibre, and paints gathered and ground 
by herself, she works out the design that her imagination 
has already created and pictured upon her piece of work. 
Some of these designs represent conventionalized objects 
of nature — birds, clouds, mountains, rain, corn, lightning, 
tadpoles, dragon-flies, horned toads, serpents and the like; 
others are purely geometrical, and the variety and extent 
of them are more wonderful than any except the experts 
realize. In a monograph upon the ancient pottery of these 
people, Dr. Fewkes pictures every known geometrical 
figure of ancient and modern times, all of which were 
copied by him from vessels that have been excavated from 
ancient ruins and graves. 

The Pottery of Nampeyo. Every village has its own style 
of pottery. Among the Hopis, the finest potter is a resident 
of Tevra or Hano, Nampeyo by name. Her ware is char- 
acterized by beauty of shape, perfection of form, dignity 
and character in design, and a general appearance that is 



142 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

pleasing and artistic. Zuni pottery is of a superior quality 
to that of Acoma, Laguna, and the other villages near by, 
and often contains in its designs the deer, with its peculiar 
red line of throat leading to the heart. 

Black Pottery. At Santa Domingo and Santa Clara, 
pueblos on the Rio Grande, a black ware is produced that 
is effective and strongly decorative in certain pieces. 

Ancient Varieties. Ancient ware, dug from ruins and 
graves, is exceedingly rare and commands a high price. 
There are three distinguishable varieties, among others, 
that denote comparative age. The earliest type is of the 
corrugated ware, in which the thumb and finger marks, 
denoting the pressure of the coils, one upon another, are 
clearly in evidence. Some pottery was made in basket 
matrices, and marks of the basket are clearly outlined 
upon the outside of the vessels so made. 

The second type is the plain black and white ware, and 
the third is the red ware painted with black designs. 

Both ancient and modern ware, the latter in large variety, 
may be seen and purchased at the Hopi House. 

Navaho Silverware. Of equal interest is the making of 
silverware by the Navaho peshlikai, or silversmith, whose 
primitive forge is in the first room entered at the Hopi 
House. 

Fondness for Silver. The innate desire of a primitive 
people for personal adornment early led the pueblo Indians 
to a use of metal. When the Spaniards and Mexicans came 
among them, the iron, brass and copper of the conquerors 
were soon added to the dried seeds, shell beads, pieces 
of turquoise and coral they had hitherto used. But silver 
has ever been their favorite metallic ornament. Long ago 
they formed an ideal in the Spanish don or Aiexican vaquero, 
with his personal apparel adorned with silver, his horse's 
bridle trapped out with silver belts, buckles and buttons, 
and his saddle and its equipment studded with silver nails 
and other fanciful expressions of adornment. From the 
Mexican and the pueblo Indian he rapidly picked up the 



PUEBLO AND NAVAHO POTTERY 143 

necessary knowledge, and practice soon gave the skill to 
fashion the silver into every desired shape. 

Navahos Used Silver Three Centuries Ago. Gushing 
contends that the Zunis knew how to smelt metals before 
the Spanish conquest, but the statement is strongly dis- 
puted. There can be no question, however, but that the 
large use of silver ornaments by both pueblo and Navaho 
Indians dates from three hundred and fifty years ago, after 
Coronado's conquistadores had found out that this was 
no land of gold and precious metals, as was Peru. 

In almost every pueblo of Arizona and New Mexico, 
and in many a Navaho hogan, one may find the primitive 
silversmith at work. There is no silversmith's shop, but 
generally in a corner of the quaint pueblo house, or in an 
adjunct to the Navaho hogan, the worker quietly pursues 
his important avocation; for in a community whose mem- 
bers have no other metallic arts, the silversmith is an 
important man, and sees to it that his profession is regarded 
with the high dignity it deserves. 

Method of Working. With a rude mud forge, — the 
bellows of which, though primitive, is as ingenious as any 
patent bellows invented, — a hammer, a piece of railroad 
steel for an anvil, a three-cornered file, one or two punches, 
a crucible which he understands how to make as well as 
the best metallurgist in the land, and a bit of solder, he 
goes to work. Sometimes he runs his melted Mexican 
dollars into primitive moulds; again he hammers the 
metal into the shape he requires. He creates rings, some 
of them containing rude pieces of turquoise, garnet, etc., 
well designed bracelets, belt-disks, large and small silver 
buttons (some of which are admirably adapted for belt- 
buckles), earrings, necklaces, crosses, beads, bangles, 
clasps of silver for bridles, etc. 

Ornaments and Jewelry. The two most cherished 
objects are the waist-belt and the necklace, though far 
more rings and bracelets are to be found. But this is on 
account of the great expense of the former. The waist- 



144 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

belts generally consist of eight moulded plates, either 
circular or oval, with filleted border and scalloped edges, 
each plate weighing from two to four ounces. These are 
punctured in the center, or. a small ban-d is soldered to the 
back, to admit of their being threaded upon a long and 
narrow belt of leather, the ends of which are fastened with 
a buckle. Both men and women wear these, and they are 
highly prized as ornaments by both sexes. The necklaces 
are equally in vogue, the designs being principally hollow 
beads, crosses, and ornaments representing pomegranate 
blossoms. The silver bridle is also an object of great 
esteem. It is made of curiously designed, heavy clasps of 
silver, fastened upon leather, with numberless buttons 
shaped from coins. Many of these weigh not less than 
fifteen ounces, and some as high as forty, hence their value 
can be readily estimated. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE HOPIS AND THEIR SNAKE DANCE 

A Hopi Religious Rite. Interesting among Indians, 
because of their unique houses on the summits of high 
mesas, reached only by precipitous trails, the Hopi of 
northern Arizona always have possessed peculiar fascina- 
tion on account of their thrilling religious rite, known as 
the Snake Dance, an account of which follows.^ 

The Painted Desert. The region they live in, named 
the Province of Tusayan by the Spanish conquistadores, 
three hundred and fifty years ago, is a region of color. 
The rocks of which the mesas are built, the sand of the 
desert, the peculiarly carved buttes which abound on every 
hand, are all strikingly colored, with such a variety of hues 
and tints that one does not wonder at the name — the 
Painted Desert — which is applied to the country through 
which we must travel to reach Hopiland. 

A Saddle Trip from El Tovar. The traveler who wishes 
to visit this fascinating and unique region can arrange for 
full equipment at El Tovar. The trip will be a saddle one 
and all outfits will have to be transported on pack burros. 

The Old Hopi Trail. The road followed is practically 
the line of the old Hopi trail. On the way out, the in- 
terested traveler may visit Grand View Point and Hotel, 
Hance's Old Camp and Trail, the Red Canyon Trail, 
Moran's, and all the other salient points at the eastern end 

*This Sacred Dance and the life of the Hopi Indians is more 
fully set out in the author's larger work The Indians of the 
Painted Desert Region. 



146 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

of the Grand Canyon. Especially should he stand on far- 
away Navaho Point, or Desert View. This is the last of 
the promontories before the rim of the Canyon turns 
sharply to the north. Below it, a vast amphitheatre is 
opened out with more precipitous walls than at any other 
part of the Canyon. The sweep of the river, the mouth 
of Marble Canyon, the superlative richness of coloring at 
this point, combined with the unequalled views of the 
Painted Desert, which lies to the right, or east, afford a 
place of varied delight, scarce found elsewhere on the 
whole Canyon rim. 

Hopi Cornfields. Crossing the Little Colorado River 
at the Tanner Crossing, Moenkopi is visited, and then a 
day's ride of forty miles over the Painted Desert brings 
one to the cornfields of the Hopi, as properly they should be 
called. For years, they have been known as the Moki, 
a term of reproach applied in derision by the Navahos. 
These cornfields are a wonderful monument to the thrift 
of the Hopi. White men would have starved to death in 
the place, before they would have dreamed of planting 
corn in such an inhospitable-looking soil. No springs or 
streams sufficient to irrigate with, unversed in digging wells 
and pumping water to the surface, one would have thought 
an ignorant Indian would have looked elsewhere before 
planting his corn in such a place. But the Indian is not so 
ignorant. His life, from the cradle to the grave, is one of 
close observation. His very existence depends upon its 
exercise. He soon discovered, therefore, that there was a 
natural subsoil irrigation in certain parts of this desert, 
where his corn would grow. And grow it does, most 
wonderfully. Sometimes water is scarce; then the crop 
decreases, but generally a good crop may be relied upon. 
To hoe his cornfield, a Hopi will often run over the desert 
forty, fifty, sixty, and even eighty miles in a day. Some- 
times, when the field is near by, the Hopi will ride on his 
burro. These cunning creatures are almost a necessity 
of Indian life. The streets would seem lonely without 



THE HOPIS AND THEIR SNAKE DANCE 147 

them. It will be noticed occasionally that one of these 
animals has lost part of his left ear. This is proof that he 
is possessed of kleptomaniac proclivities. If a burro is 
found stealing corn, he is sentenced to have part of his 
ear cut off. 

Oraibi. On one of these burros we ride up the steep 
trail that brings us to the westernmost village of the Hopi, 
Oraibi. It is perched high on the mesa top, several hundred 
feet above the valley, and the various trails are steep and 
rugged. Some of them are sheer climbs, up which no animal 
other than man can go. There are six other villages, three 
of them ten miles, and the other three about twenty miles, 
to the east of Oraibi. They, also, are perched upon high 
mesas, which thrust themselves, like long fingers, into the 
sandy desert. On the middle mesa are Shungopavi, 
Mashongnovi and Shipaulovi, while on the eastern mesa 
are Walpi, Sichomovi and Hano. 

Sandstone Houses. All the houses are built of rude 
pieces of sandstone, cemented with mud. Steps are made 
of larger slabs of stone, and often the only means of access 
is by long ladders, the poles of which tower high above the 
buildings, and give a singularly picturesque aspect to the 
village. In the olden days, there were neither doors nor 
windows in the first story of the houses. They were built 
so purposely, since they must serve for fortresses as well 
as homes. 

Hopi Wafer Bread. One is often likely to find a woman 
engaged in making piki. Piki is a wafer bread, peculiar 
to the Hopis. It is finer than the finest tortilla of the 
Mexican, or oatcake of the Scotch. No biscuit maker in 
America or England can make a cracker one-half so thin. 
The thinnest cracker is thick compared with piki, and yet 
the Hopi make it with marvelous dexterity. Cornmeal 
batter in a crude earthenware bowl, is the material; a 
smooth, flat stone, under which a brisk fire is kept burning, 
is the instrument; and the woman's quick fingers, spread- 
ing a thin layer of the batter over the stone, perform the 



148 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

operation. It looks so easy. A lady of one of my parties 
tried it once, and failed. My cook, a stalwart Kansas 
City man, knew he would not fail. And he didn't. He had 
four of the best-blistered fingers I have seen in a long time. 
But the Hopi woman merely greases the stone, dips her 
fingers into the batter, carries them lightly and carelessly 
over the heated surfaces, and, in a moment, strips the 
already baked sheet from the stone. When several are 
baked, she folds them over and over until they are about the 
size of an elongated shredded wheat biscuit. 

Hopi Women as Builders. It is a reversal of our con- 
ception of things to see the " gentler sex " engaged in 
building a house, as is often the case in Hopiland. Yet 
to the Hopi there is nothing strange in this scene, for the 
woman, and not the man, is the owner of the house. Hence, 
the Hopi reasons, why should she not build it ? It is hers, 
so let her make it; and she does. She uses no spirit-level, 
no plumb line, no square, no saw, and yet she makes a 
creditable house, fairly square and plumb, warm and cosy 
in winter, and cool and comfortable in summer. The mud 
of the winter's watercourses is used as mortar, and the 
pieces of disintegrated sandstone, that abound on the mesa 
tops, form the building material. 

Men Who Weave and Knit. In accordance with Hopi 
logic, the antithesis of the woman house-builders is to be seen 
daily in the men who are engaged in weaving the women's 
garments; men, also, knit the stockings, and follow other 
so-called feminine occupations. There is nothing in- 
congruous in these things to them. They are part of 
" the way of the old," handed down to them by their fore- 
fathers. 

Hopi Method of Weaving. To watch a weaver at work 
is to acquire a new respect for Indians. As one sees the 
crude, home-made appliances, and then watches the yarn 
climb up, thread by thread, battened down by hand so 
that the garment will hold water, until the article is finished, 
artistically designed, and perfectly fitted for its required 



THE HOPIS AND THEIR SNAKE DANCE 149 

purpose, he comes to the conclusion that the Hopi weaver, 
at least, is a skilled artificer. 

Hopi Rituals. The Hopi are a remarkably religious 
people. I question whether there is to be found elsewhere 
in the world so ritualistic a people as they are. They have 
ceremonies — all of religious character — for every month 
of the year, and some of them require from eight to sixteen 
days for their observance. Their dances are propitiations 
of the gods they worship, and whose aid they implore. 
One of the most noted and world-renowned of their cere- 
monies is the Snake Dance, and I wish to conclude this 
chapter with a brief description of this wonderful act, which 
I have now witnessed thirteen separate times. It has been 
woefully misrepresented by careless writers. 

The whole ceremony is conducted with a dignity and 
solemnity that is not surpassed by any Christian observance. 

Hopi Mythology Regarding Snake Dance. It is not a 
dance, in our sense of the word. It Is a prayer for rain, and 
of thanksgiving for the blessings of harvest. Neither is 
it an act of snake worship. According to Hopi mythology, 
the snake and antelope clans, or families, are descended 
from the union of Tiyoand his brother with two sisters, — 
daughters of the snake mother, — Tiyo being the paternal 
Ancestor of the Snake Clan, and his brother of the Antelope 
Clan. The story of Tiyo's visit, using a sealed-up hollow 
pinion log as a boat, and sailing down the Colorado river 
through " shipapu " to the underworld, is one of the most 
interesting pieces of aboriginal folk-lore. It appears else- 
where,^ and forms the burden of the sixteen dramatic songs 
sung in the secrecy of the underground ceremonial kivas 
of the snake and antelope clans, in the nine days of pre- 
liminary ceremonial, which culminate in the open-air 
public dance. 

Antelope Race and Com Scramble. There are two 
other ceremonies connected with the Snake Dance that may 

' See Indians of the Painted Desert Region. 



150 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

be witnessed by all who like. These are the antelope 
race and the corn scramble. The former takes place on 
the morning of the eighth day before sunrise. Though 
apparently a mere test of athletic ability, it is in reality a 
religious ceremonial. For centuries, the Hopi lived sur- 
rounded by warlike people who preyed upon them. Being 
few in number, living in a desert land, and beset by mur- 
derous marauders, fleetness of foot and great " staying " 
powers while running over the long trails of the sandy 
deserts became an essential condition of national preserva- 
tion. Hence the priests made the cultivation of the bodily 
powers a matter of religion. Every youth was compelled 
to exercise to the utmost. The result is a fine athletic 
development. Each year many great races are run, and 
two of the chief of these are at the Snake Dance, there being 
a race on both the eighth and ninth mornings. 

At the end of that fierce race across the hot sands and 
up the steep mesa, the winner exultantly stands before the 
chief priests. The lightning bearer then throws the zigzag 
symbols over him, and rain clouds are pictured at his feet. 
Then he is hurried on to the antelope kiva, where another 
priest gives to him the sacred gourd full of water and a 
sack full of sacred meal, with certain ceremonial prayer 
sticks, which, placed and used in his cornfield, ensure to 
him an extra fine crop at the next harvest. 

In the meantime, a number of young men and boys 
have followed the rest of the racers, bearing in their hands 
cornstalks, melon vines and fruit. As soon as they reach 
the level mesa top, the women and girls dart upon them, 
and a most good-natured but exciting scuffle takes place. 
For five to ten minutes this scramble lasts, and when every 
corn or vine carrier is rid of his gifts, the play is at an end, 
and all retire to await the great event of the whole cere- 
mony, — the open-air dance, when the deadly reptiles 
are carried in the mouths of the priests. 

Preparation for Snake Dance. At noon a secret cere- 
mony takes place in the dark recesses of the kiva, viz.: 



THE HOPIS AND THEIR SNAKE DANCE 151 

the washing of the elder brothers (as the snakes are called), 
which I have fully described in " The Indians of the Painted 
Desert Region." When the afternoon shadows lengthen, 
every available place in the dance plaza is speedily occupied 
by the villagers and visitors, who wait the march of the 
antelope priests. The photographers present must keep 
within a certain line. 

Arrival of Snake Priests. After circling in front of the 
kisi (a Cottonwood bower in which the snakes are kept) 
the antelope priests line up with their faces fronting from 
the kisi. There they sing and dance awhile, waiting for the 
snake priests. These come from their kiva to the south of 
the dance plaza, and, as they arrive, all sounds are hushed 
and all attention concentrated upon them. They circle 
before the kisi, and then line up facing the antelope priests. 

Appearance of Priests. Some people say they are 
hideous; others have said, with me, that the sight is sublime. 
If one looks merely at the half-nude bodies, made repulsive 
by a coating of reddish black paint, with dabs of white- 
wash in several places, at their faces painted with the 
reddish black stuff, at the strings of white beads around 
their necks, and the snake whips in their hands, then indeed 
it is easy to say that they are hideous. But if one looks 
at their faces, he will see intense earnestness, deep solemnity, 
profound dignity, and unflinching belief in the necessity 
for and power of the prayer about to be offered. Then, 
too, with what simple, trustful bravery they handle the 
snakes, when that part of the ceremony comes! They know 
the danger; no one more so. Indeed, if a priest is afraid, 
he is not allowed to participate. Not only would his fear 
prevent his own proper worship, but it would interfere 
with that of his comrades. 

Variety of Snakes. There were few snakes at Oraibi, 
the year I last saw the dance there, but those they had 
were active and vicious. There were several rattlers, some 
red racers, and a few bull snakes. The light was good, and 
several first-class photographs were made which actually 



152 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

show the snakes in the mouths of the priests. At the 
Snake Dance in the other villages, the priest swings the 
snake out of his mouth, and allows it to fall. Here, I 
noticed that every snake was gently placed upon the ground 
by the priest who had been carrying it in his mouth. The 
antelope men never leave their line, during the handling 
of the snakes. They continue to sing during the whole 
performance. 

Purification of Priests. While waiting for the priests 
to return, after taking the snakes into the valley, I learned 
of several slight changes, owing to changed circumstances. 
The rain had made numerous small pools at the top of the 
mesa. The priests, in returning, divested themselves of 
all their ceremonial paraphernalia, and washed the paint 
from their bodies, before returning to the kiva and drinking 
the emetic. Generally, they have gone to their homes at 
Oraibi or at Walpi, have had the women bring water to 
the west side of the mesa, and there washed themselves. 




Karl Moon, Fhoto. Copyright, /900, by Fred Harvey. 

rUESIDENT TAFT AND PARTY AT THE GRAND CANYON. 




WESTERN \VAI.L OF IIOPI (ROWE) POINT. 



CHAPTER XX 

AN HISTORIC TRAIL ACROSS THE GRAND CANYON COUNTRY 

The Old Hopi Trail. One of the most noted aboriginal 
trails in the western United States, is the old Hopi (generally 
called Moki) trail, leading from the seven villages of the 
Hopi and their agricultural offshoot, Moenkopi, to the 
Canyon of the Havasupais. This was the trail followed by 
Lieut. Frank Hamilton Cushing — the noted ethnolo- 
gist — when he visited these Kuhne kiwes while he was 
living at the interesting pueblo of Zuni, in New Mexico. 
I have made the whole trip from Hopiland to the Havasu- 
pais and back twice, and have ridden for many years 
over small portions of the trail. It is intimately connected 
with the history of two of the people seen most at the 
Canyon. According to one of the Havasupai legends, 
the Hopis and Havasupais are descended from twin brothers. 
Hence they have always been friendly and have traded 
continuously the products of their own manufacture. The 
Hopis exchange their horses, sheep, and burros, laden 
with blankets, pottery and silverware, for buckskin, Havasu- 
pai baskets (which they prize very highly), dried peaches, 
etc. 

Originally this was a foot trail; then horses, burros and 
mules were used; and now, in some portions of its distance, 
notably from Moenkopi to Oraibi, it is used for wagons, 

A Six Day Journey. Let us leave the home of the Havasu- 
pais and go on a visit to the Hopis. Our trip into Havasu 
Canyon is described in another chapter. I discussed the 
matter with several of the leading Havasupais, and they 



1~A THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

told me that the trip will be arduous and long. How long ? 
Five, six days! 

A Side Trail. But before starting I decided to see one of 
the outlets to Havasu Canyon, that used to be a part of the 
old trail, and that was used as an inlet when General Crook 
and his soldiers came there. The trail is called after 
a spring bearing the name Pack-a-tha-true-ye-ba. Never 
did I have such a sense of the maze of canyons contained 
in this system of canyons as on that trip. My guide 
was Sinyela, one of the most intelligent Indians of the 
whole tribe. We left the Havasupai village early one 
morning, each riding an Indian pony, with all the pro- 
visions we thought we should need on our saddles. After 
awhile, we entered a side canyon I had never before ex- 
plored. During the whole of that day we toiled, riding 
as hard as we could over the almost trackless canyon floor; 
trailing through deep sand; climbing over masses of 
boulders that freshets or cloud-bursts had piled between 
the walls; forcing our way through dense willows; scratched 
by thickets of mesquites. Again and again in the walls 
were seen clifF-dwellings and corn storage houses. The heat 
was intense, and radiated from the precipitous walls on 
either side. 

The Camp at Night. When night came, we ate our 
frugal meal, our horses standing by waiting to be hobbled 
and turned loose. For beds, we had the nearest layer 
of sand we could find, with our saddles for pillows. 

Suffering from Thirst. Early in the morning we started 
again, winding and curving with the course of the Canyon. 
For nearly two days we had been without fresh water, 
and the little we had brought in our wicker-woven, pinion- 
gum-covered esuwas had to suffice for our needs. Sud- 
denly we entered a vast amphitheatre, with a rude arch 
at the end. It was flower-covered, with occasional trees, 
and here, hidden from any but the view of an Indian, 
was found a tiny spring of coolest, purest water. How we 
enjoyed it! 



AN HISTORIC TRAIL 155 

A Dangerous Slope. On the third day, we came to the 
place where the soldiers descended from the plateau above 
into the depths of the Canyon. There was no well-defined 
trail, and the slope was steep enough to make one's flesh 
creep. The site was marked with disaster. Here a pack 
mule had slipped, fallen, and been dashed to pieces; there 
a man had fallen and been killed. It was a difficult descent, 
but nerve and pluck had accomplished it. Beyond was 
the Pack-a-tha-true-ye-ba Spring, and after seeing its 
water I determined that we must return. 

Capturing Wild Ponies. On our way back, Sinyela 
made a proposition that, as our ponies were exceedingly 
weary, we catch some fresh ones of his, for this was his 
" stock range," and he knew where there were plenty of 
good animals. The horses were wild, as range horses 
generally are, but Sinyela was crafty. He knew of a blind 
ravine, or rocky pocket, into which we could drive the horses 
we needed, and to that end all our energies were directed. 
Darting back and forth to arrest the dodging and fleeing 
animals, we at length succeeded in " penning " about a 
dozen horses in the pocket. Then I watched Sinyela, 
hand extended, slowly and stealthily approach the pony 
he needed. Time and again, as he got nearer and nearer, 
all the time making a peculiar sissing sound, the horse 
would suddenly swing around and endeavor to dash away. 
But I was " guard of the gate," and it was my business to 
see that none of the band escaped. It took us fully two 
hours to catch the two horses. At last they were ours. 
Neither was well broken, though both had been ridden, and 
the first thing Sinyela did was to blindfold them. The 
saddles were removed from our jaded ponies, and placed 
upon the new ones. The starts of terror and anger showed 
what we had ahead of us. Bridles were adjusted, and 
then, with our fresh ponies still blindfolded, we sprang 
into our saddles. When our feet were firmly placed and 
all was ready, we lifted the blinds from the horses' eyes and 
then braced ourselves. Digging our heels into the ponies' 



156 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

sides, off we started, at a jerking, bounding, half-bucking 
pace. Shouting directions to each other, helter-skelter, 
over and around boulders, we dashed along as if we were 
after the hounds on a genuine old-fashioned fox-hunt. 
I suppose we kept it up a full hour, at topmost speed. The 
horses didn't want to stop, and Sinyela knew that the 
best way to break them was to let them have their own way. 
But before the day was over, the ponies were considerably 
tamed down, and it was a weary band that stopped for 
camp that night. The animals were duly hobbled and 
turned loose; I lit a camp fire, though we had nothing to 
cook and no kettle for boiling water, and dirty, dusty, 
with every nerve and fibre of my body weary and aching, 
I finally stretched out on the solid earth and wooed " balmy 
sleep." The ride was resumed next day. We finally got 
ourselves to Sinyela's camp in safety, where a sweat-bath and 
a swim in the delicious waters of Havasu fully rested us. 

The Hopi Trail Ascent. We decided to leave Havasu 
Canyon by way of the " Moki " Trail. This is the same 
trail as that described in the chapter on the descent into 
Havasu Canyon from El Tovar, as far up as the point 
where the pictured rocks appear. Here the Hopi trail 
turns and follows the course of the main Havasu Canyon. 
Cushing counted forty-four knots in his buckskin fringe 
from the village to the exit, each knot denoting an abrupt 
curve or angle in the winding canyons. The Topocobya 
Trail descends a sheer cliff of stupendous majesty, and the 
Wallapai Trail is enough to shatter the nervous system 
of any but the most experienced; but the Hopi Trail ascent 
out of the Canyon is different, in that, in several places, it 
passes through narrow clefts, with ponderous, overhanging 
rocks, the whole course barely wide enough to" permit a 
laden mule to get through with its pack. It is an almost 
vertical ascent of about twelve hundred feet which winds 
around and up the clefts, up steps hacked out of the solid 
rock with flint axes and hammers, by the patient hands of 
long-dead Indians. 



AN HISTORIC TRAIL 157 

The Legend of Ahaiuta. The Hopis and the Zunis 
beHeve this to be the spot where the Zuni god, Ahaiuta, 
one of the twin gods of war, after the waters of the world 
had arisen and overwhelmed the nations of their ancestry, 
and flooded the whole earth from the far west to the Rio 
Grande, dug a little outlet for the waters. The flood, 
finding this hole, had rushed down into the interior of the 
earth, and had thus worn this terrific cleft, and the gorge 
below, leaving the marks of its strife upon the banded rocks 
which surrounded and hovered over us. 

Now we scrambled over great rocks, then along a foot- 
wide trail, and at length wound our way out along a massive 
bank of talus. Around at the head of the trail, I sent 
Sinyela back, and started alone along the historic trail 
across the plateau. The general scenery of the plateau 
already has been described. 

A Roundabout Drive. At this point, I prevailed upon Mr. 
Bass to hitch two horses and two mules to his ambulance 
(which had once been a United States Army ambulance 
and was used in his Arizona campaigns by General Nelson 
A. Miles), and drive — a roundabout way — to the north- 
eastern slopes of the San Francisco range, thence to the 
Little Colorado River, where we would again strike the 
Hopi trail from Moenkopi to Oraibi. There were four of 
us in the party. From the rim of the Canyon direct to the 
Little Colorado the route is, at present, inaccessible for 
wagons. It is a horse trail, and somewhat of the same nature 
as all the plateau trails through the Kohonino (Coconino) 
Forest. Hence our roundabout wagon trip. 

On the Fringe of the Painted Desert. Filling our canteens 
to the nozzle, we drove over the western fringe of the 
Painted Desert. Skirting the mountain, we made a " dry 
camp " that night, and used up every drop of water next 
morning. Some went for our coff^ee, and the rest was 
given to the animals. Then we started for the far-away 
Tanner Crossing of the Little Colorado, across the thirsty 
desert. As we were without water, it was natural that, 



158 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

on that particular day, the elements should combine to 
make it hotter than usual. A few clouds sprang into 
existence, but we felt no breath of cooling air, and as the 
day grew, the clouds became burning glasses to focus the 
sun's heat more powerfully upon us. Late in the after- 
noon, our eyes were delighted with the sight of what seemed 
to be a pool of water, in the road ahead of us. Parched 
almost to keen suffering, we drove our weary and thirsty 
horses right into it, scaring away, as we did so, several 
horses that were standing there, and then, not waiting for 
cups or ceremony, each man threw himself flat on his 
stomach and began to drink the uninviting compound. 
A heavy shower had fallen in this one spot, and the pool 
had not yet had time to evaporate. 

A Dash Across the Little Colorado. The day was sultry 
and betokened a heavy rain storm, so, when we reached the 
Little Colorado, we decided to get over that night, since, 
if the storm came, it might render crossing impossible. 
Our ambulance was heavily laden, and the crossing dan- 
gerous. Before I ventured, we unloaded about half the 
weight, and then I undressed, save for my undershirt, 
and went to investigate the bed of the crossing for quick- 
sands. As soon as I had determined where to drive, we 
started across. 

Whipping up the mules, and keeping their necks well 
into their collars, we dashed across in safety. Immediately 
the wagon was unloaded, I turned it around and crossed 
alone. The remainder of the load was put in, with our 
two men, and, one of them seated by my side with the 
whip, we " yelled " ourselves across again. Our wagon was 
stopped in a sandy drift, our grub box thrown out, a fire 
lighted, and with the impending storm in close proximity, 
we hurriedly cooked and ate our evening meal. No sooner 
was my plate cleared than, taking my roll of blankets, I 
wearily threw them down not more than ten feet from the 
wagon, too utterly " played out " to seek shelter in the 
cliff beyond, where a number of cave-like shelves afforded 




Putnam & Valentine , Photos. 

HOPI POINT, FROM BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL. 
Page 60 





- w 

- > 



O c 
u 



AN HISTORIC TRAIL 159 

good level sleeping places, secure from the storm. As I 
unrolled my blankets, I called to the men to be sure to 
put out the camp fire and place the sugar sack, etc., in the 
grub box and close the lid. I was no sooner stretched out 
than I was sound asleep. 

A Storm at Night. One of my companions insisted 
upon unrolling his blankets close to me, in spite of the 
fact that a terrible storm might break over us at any 
time. Poor fellow! He had scarcely gotten to sleep when 
a frightful gust of wind swept down upon us. Awakened 
with the noise, my eye caught a glimpse of the flaming brands 
from the fire being tossed into the wagofi, and I rushed to the 
rescue. In a fierce wind, with a wagon and its contents 
dried out by the fierce Arizona sun, I knew there was not 
a moment to lose. Fortunately, I had left a pail of water 
close by, and with this I doused out not only the flames in 
the wagon, but the remnant of the camp fire. It was pitch 
dark by now. All at once, with a light that was blinding 
in its intensity, and with a terrible clap of thunder, the 
storm burst upon us. It was, without any question, one 
of the fiercest short storms, accompanied with the most 
vivid lightning, I have ever seen. The darkness was so 
black, that, like that of Egypt during the plague, it seemed 
almost as if it might be felt. With a suddenness that was 
awe-inspiring, it became light as noonday. The lightning 
was of a brilliant, violet tint, and shone with fervent in- 
tensity. And it was not merely a few flashes. It came down 
in millions of jagged streaks, completely filling the heavens 
to the horizon in every direction. 

A Frightened Traveler. In one of these blinding flashes, 
I caught sight of my neighbor. His face wore an expression 
of anguish. In his dread he had arisen, and had tried to 
pick up his clothes and blankets, in the hope of reaching 
shelter. In one of the sudden lulls of the tempest, I heard 
him talking to himself: " Shall I ever live through this 
awful night .'' Can I get to those clifi^s I Why doesn't 
some one come to help me ? I'm going to die. There's 



160 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

no help for it! " Taking advantage of the next flash, I 
picked up my blankets and carried them to the cliff's; 
then returned to him, gathered up his belongings, and 
urged him to follow me. As soon as he was secure, I 
spread out my sopping wet blankets in the first space I 
could find. Wet through as I was, I rolled myself up in 
my wetter blankets, and soon should have been asleep, 
had it not been for the moanings of the man I had rescued. 
He wished he hadn't come; he was sure the exposure would 
kill him, and he wondered why people were such fools as 
to take unnecessary trips. Just then the storm waters 
from above, seeking their accustomed drainage channels, 
found their way down to a rock which overhung my sleeping- 
place as a rude spout, and began to pour upon me in bucket- 
fuls. Yet I vowed I would never admit that my sleep was 
in the slightest disturbed. So I turned over in my watery 
bed, and kept up the play until morning came, while the 
angry man complained the entire time. Funny.'' In spite 
of my own misery, it was funny enough to make a burro 
laugh. 

Two Days' Rest. It took us a couple of days to get well 
dried out, which we spent at Tuba City, a Mormon town 
since abandoned by order of the Courts, which found that 
it was illegally located on an Indian reserve. Then we 
enjoyed a day or two at Moenkopi, watching the Hopi 
Indians at their interesting occupations, caring for their 
fields, and preparing to go on to Oraibi, forty miles distant, 
where the Snake Dance was soon to occur. 

Camp at Blue Canyon. The heat was fearful — it was 
the middle of August — and the sand made hard pulling 
for the horses. It was late in the evening before we reached 
Blue Canyon. The road was uncertain, so we camped on 
the rim above, leading our animals down, as best we could, 
to a Navaho hogan, where we thought we might get water 
and some cornstalks for them. We got both, and then 
decided to hobble the animals and turn them loose in the 
Canyon, while we returned to our wagon above. The 



AN HISTORIC TRAIL 161 

wind had come up, and was blowing fiercely, so, in the 
dark, I chose for a sleeping place a piece of ground that 
was somewhat sheltered from it. It was irregular, rocky 
and rolling, and as the wind continued to blow, the fine 
sand blew over and on to my face, while the coarser sand 
settled into my blankets. It was not a refreshing and 
comforting night. 

An Exciting Descent. In the morning, when we went 
down for our animals, we found that they had broken 
through the flimsy fence of the Navaho, and had worked 
considerable havoc in his corn-patch. The Navaho grumbled 
and gesticulated, and showed unmistakable anger, but I 
took the matter coolly and, after seeing the extent of the 
damage, quietly asked the head of the family: " Tu-kwe 
peso ? " (How many dollars ?) On receiving his answer, 
I offered to give him sugar and flour to that amount. We 
became friends at once, and he invited us to bring our 
wagon down and spend the day with him. As we were all 
wearied, we decided to do so. To save going around by 
the wagon road, he showed us a quicker way of descent. 
It was a sand bank not quite vertical, but as nearly so as 
ever any one drove down and lived to tell the tale. So, 
harnessing the animals, we brought the wagon to the edge 
of this sandy descent; then, tying all the wheels securely, 
so that they would drag, all of us holding on to the 
hind axle and with weights trailing behind, the whole mass 
went over. Though we threw ourselves into the sand and 
held on to our ropes, it was only by expert driving that the 
animals were kept from being crushed. 

Experience with a Navaho Pilot. The next day we pushed 
on to Oraibi, piloted by a Navaho. When we reached the 
western side of the mesa, I decided to go up the foot trail 
directly to the village, so as to have water and corn fodder 
awaiting the animals, when they got safely around to the 
eastern side. The Navaho got it into his head that the 
wagon was to be driven up the slope on to the mesa, 
an impossible thing without making a road. There was 



162 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

a trail for horses and burros, however, and the driver 
yielded to the Navaho's guidance. At last a sheer clifF was 
reached, up which only trail stock could possibly go. 
There the party was, with four saddle animals harnessed 
to a wagon, in a cul de sac, consisting of a spot barely large 
enough for the wagon to stand on, a deep precipice on the 
right, a steep cliff ascending on the left, and the animals 
ahead on a sandy slope as steep as the one we had 
descended at Blue Canyon, a day or two before. Fearful 
for the safety of animals and wagon, the only course was 
retreat. A crude road was built, and, after tying wheels 
and trailing ropes on as before, with the help of a number 
of Indians who had come to look on, the whole outfit 
was lowered to the level below in safety. 

An Unforgetable Memory. Thus we had come over a 
large part of the historic Hopi trail, never designed or 
planned for a wagon, with our ambulance; and the mem- 
ories of the trip, arduous though it was, linger in the mind 
side by side with experiences of the Snake Dance, and other 
unforgetable and delightful remembrances. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE NAVAHO AND HIS DESERT HOME 

The Navaho Reservation. To see the Navaho in the 
Hopi House making silverware, or watch his wife weaving 
blankets, is one thing. To see him on his native heath — 
in the heart of the Painted Desert — is another. With the 
conveniences of travel now made possible by the excellent 
equipments of the El Tovar transportation department, any 
visitor who is not afraid of a strenuous trip may now visit 
these people with the minimum of discomfort. Indeed, 
the Navahos and Hopis may be seen together, on the one 
excursion described in an earlier chapter. The Navahos 
are the warlike nomads of the desert. They occupy an 
extensive reservation in northern Arizona and New Mexico, 
that adjoins the Hopi reservation on the north and east. 
They now number some twenty thousand souls, and are 
slowly on the increase. They are proud, independent, and 
desirous of being left alone by the United States Govern- 
ment. 

Punishment for Depredations. In the early days, before 
they had learned the power of the new people who had 
flocked into the land, they committed many depredations 
upon Americans, and when remonstrated with were inso- 
lent and defiant. So an expedition was sent against them, 
and large numbers — the major portion of the tribe — 
were arrested and moved near Fort Bayard — the Bosque 
Redondo — in New Mexico, on the Pecos River. Here the 
conditions were so adverse that many scores of them died, 
and when, finally, they were allowed to return, it was an 



164 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

humbled people that wended its way back to the high mesa 
lands they had for so many centuries called their own. 

Navaho Customs. Linguistically, the Navaho is akin 
to the Apache and the Tinneh of Alaska; indeed, he calls 
himself Tinne. In winter he lives in a rude shelter of 
logs and mud called a ho-gan. In summer this is changed 
for a simple brush stack, which affords shade from the sun, 
and yet allows free course of the cooling air. He is a polyga- 
mist, and lives with his one or more wives, as he can afford. 
His chief industries are cattle, horse and sheep-raising. 
The latter supply his wife (or wives) with the wool needed 
for blanket-weaving, which is her chief industry. 

Navaho Superstition. The Navaho is superstitious 
about several things. If any one dies in the hogan it is 
henceforth " tabu." The body is burned and the building 
with it, and whatever fragments of poles, etc., withstand 
the fire are regarded with distrust. 

Dislikes and Fears. Another tabu of the Navaho is his 
fear of seeing his mother-in-law. Whenever she comes in 
sight, he disappears. Technically he never sees her, and 
I have often had great fun in trying to bring them to- 
gether. Fish is another object placed under the Navaho 
ban. He will neither eat, see, nor smell fish, if he can 
help it. 

Essentially Religious. He is an essentially religious being, 
and has a large number of ritualistic ceremonies. He has 
many dances for various purposes, the most exciting of 
which is locally known as the Hosh-Kon. It is a healing 
ceremony. Dr. Matthews calls it the Mountain Chant. 
It requires many days for its complete performance, and 
one of its final ceremonies consists of a wild fire dance 
which is thrilling in the extreme. 

Superior Horsemanship. But perhaps it is in his every-day 
horsemanship that the Navaho shows himself the superior 
man. Oftentimes he introduces feats of skill on a horse 
into his ceremonies. A few years ago at Tuba City, I saw 
a large band of Navahos unite with the Hopis in their 



THE NAVAHO AND HIS DESERT HOME 165 

dances and ceremonies of harvest thanksgiving. The Hopi 
director of the dances w^as Mootchka, whose costume was 
as astoundingly frightful as he could possibly make it. 
His naked body was smeared over with whitewash, some 
of which adhered and some of which did not. On his head 
was a mass of rudely woven black wool, crowned with the 
duplex pads of some wild flower. Around the waist was a 
similar black wool mat, fastened on with a Navaho belt 
of silver disks. When all was ready the dancers began. 
The trader's store-yard was the plaza, and the roofs of all 
the buildings on the three sides of the square were covered 
with Navaho spectators. Hour after hour they continued. 
Some of the dancers were decorated, others were in ordinary 
costume, but all danced and sang with fervor. 

Dancing. The chief instrument was a large drum, made 
by hollowing out a section of a tree trunk, and covering 
the ends with rawhide, which were tightly laced on with 
strips of the same material. The dull monotonous thump 
of the drum kept time, while dancers sang and rattled. 
Their songs are invocations to " Those Above " to con- 
tinue their good gifts, and at the same time accept thanks 
for all that had been given. One dance was particularly 
beautiful. It was supposed to represent the movements 
of the planets in and out of the fixed stars. Two little girls, 
brightly and beautifully dressed, waving feather plumes 
in their hands, threaded their way in and out of the lines 
of the dancers, themselves moving with an easy graceful 
swing. 

Origin of Dances. To seek to penetrate the origin of 
these dances is to find ourselves in the darkness of antiquity. 
Almost all Indian peoples have the firmly fixed notion that 
the gods can be propitiated only by these exhausting dances. 
Consequently they are not performed by a few professional 
dancers, or even by certain families; all the people must 
dance. The smallest child, as soon as he is able to under- 
stand, must take his place with the elders, and the women 
and girls enter into the dances with the same religious 



166 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

fervor and zeal that is displayed by the men. And there 
is none of that sex enjoyment injected into their sacred 
dances, as there is in the white man's pleasure dances. 
The Indian men dance together, and the Indian women 
together, or, where both sexes participate, men are in one 
row and women in another. So that Indian dances are 
not pleasure dances. Neither are they competitive. There 
is none of the negro cake-walk idea connected with them, 
nor the Italian peasant's carnival, where rivals dance to 
gain the applause of the village. 

Gifts Thrown to Spectators. During these dances at 
Tuba, gifts of corn, squash, melons, flour, cloth of native 
texture, and loaves of unleavened bread were brought and 
given with accompanying prayers to Mootchka, the leader. 
Then, at certain times, these were thrown among the 
spectators and eagerly caught, for not only were the articles 
themselves to be desired, but there accompanied them the 
prayers of the original donors, which, in some subtle 
manner, were supposed to bring good fortune to the final 
recipients. 

The " Rooster " Race. The next day the Navahos had 
their turn. The two leading chiefs selected a suitable 
site, and, taking a rooster, buried it up to the neck in sand. 
The running course was soon cleared, and excited Indians 
on horseback lined up on either side for half a mile. Horse- 
flesh of all kinds known to the Indians (from fleet, wiry 
steeds that had won many a prize, to broken-down cayuses 
fit only for the boneyard) was to be seen. The riders 
were decked in all the gorgeousness they could afford. 
Silk bandas were around jet black masses of hair; calico of 
rainbow colors was made into garments, here and there 
overshadowed by a beautifully woven and exquisitely pat- 
terned native blanket. Around the waist of many of the 
men were leathern belts, to which were attached large silver 
disks worked by native silversmiths; and rings, brace- 
lets, necklaces and earrings of similar work abounded. 
Beginning of the Fun. The competitors were soon gath- 




Putnam &■ I'alcntine, Photos. 

NIGHT SCENE, NA\A11() IHKIANS. NEAR EL TOVaK. 
Page 164 




IN THE " I'.OXING 



OV THE LITTLE COLORADO. 
Page 71 



THE NAVAHO AND HIS DESERT HOME 167 

ered together at one end of the course. The chiefs stated 
the conditions upon which the prizes must be won, and a 
signal was given. Like a shot, a rider darted out from the 
mass toward the tiny head of the buried rooster, stooping 
over from the saddle as he neared the bird, with fingers 
of the right hand extended, the left hand holding the bridle 
and clutching the horse's mane. With a sweep, sudden as 
it was delicate, he tried to catch the rooster's head between 
his extended fingers. He failed, but dashed on, for another 
horse and rider were at his heels, and another and another; 
the string seemed endless. Now and again one would touch 
the bird, or would actually catch the head, but the body 
was too securely buried to be pulled out easily. Cheers 
would ascend as the riders showed approximate success. 
Sometimes a horse would shy, and the white visitor looked 
for nothing less than a broken neck for his rider. But, 
laughing and shouting, the athletic and careless Indian 
would swing himself into the saddle, and in a few rough 
jerks teach the unruly animal to recognize a master. . Of 
course, long before this, the rooster was dead, for at the 
first strong clutch his neck was broken, so that there was 
no unnecessary torture. The stream of riders flowed on, 
and at last one lucky fellow gave the right kind of a pull, 
and out came the rooster, to be swung around his head 
with a fierce yell of triumph. 

Pursuit of the Victor. Now the real sport begins. With 
a shout that only Indian lungs can produce, every rider 
darts after the possessor of the rooster, and for an hour, 
more or less, it is a question of hard riding, dodging, evading, 
whirling to and fro. Over the sand-hills they go, pursued 
and pursuers, yelling and shouting like demons. The 
victor's horse seems to know all about the sport. He 
watches and dodges and doubles, like a hunted hare. Now 
a stalwart ruffian has caught the rooster carrier, and hangs 
on like grim death, while he is beaten over head and breast 
and shoulders with the rooster as a weapon. Others join 
in. Surely someone will get hurt! Watch the horses. They 



1G8 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

nip and pinch each other, and squeal with pain and anger. 
Ah, the winner still keeps his prize! Again he is caught, 
and this time it seems as if he must succumb. But his horse 
helps him out and, by clinging desperately to the horn of 
the saddle and his horse's mane, he wrests himself away 
from his pursuer, aided by the shying of the pursuing horse, 
which is kicked and bitten by his own animal. But where 
is the pursuer .'' His horse is dashing riderless away. 
Is he trampled to death in that swirling, sandy conflict ? 
No, he is hanging on to the man with the rooster, belabored 
the while with the now bloody and dilapidated bird. Re- 
gardless of this he still clings, although the horse is bounding 
along at great speed, and a hundred or more are following, 
all yelling and encouraging him not to let go. With a superb 
effort, he swings himself onto the horse behind the saddle, 
and with a second sudden move grabs the rooster and 
wrests half of it out of the original victor's hands. Seeing 
a chance to escape he drops upon the sand, picks himself 
up unhurt, and is soon seated upon a new horse. Now he 
becomes the pursued, and two bands, instead of one, of 
howling, raving, shouting demons, occupy the atten- 
tion. 

Finish of Contest. And thus the struggle goes on, good- 
naturedly, yet with a fierceness of energy that is exhausting 
in its wild excitement; exhausting to the onlooker, as well 
as the participant. When the unlucky bird is all dis- 
membered, and the racers smeared from head to 
heels with blood, and it seems impossible to divide the 
pieces any smaller, then, and not till then, the conflict 
ceases. 

Two Thousand Horsemen. But for superb riding watch 
nearly two thousand of these sons of the desert as they 
train their young men and boys in daring control of their 
horses. The greatest chief of the Navahos is a good friend 
of mine, and it was by his kind invitation that I was privi- 
leged to see this never-to-be-forgotten sight. He commanded 
the " regiment " — shall I call it .? — riding alongside at 



THE NAVAHO AND HIS DESERT HOME 169 

times, and again standing where he could signal his de- 
mands and note the result. 

An Exhibition of Riding. Let us stand with him. These 
riders are about to dash past. Just before they reach us, 
a signal is given, and every rider, in an instant, disappears 
over the side of his mount, while the horses continue run- 
ning under perfect control. Simultaneously, every Indian 
reappears upon his saddle, sits about as long as one might 
count three, and then slides over to our side of his horse, 
fully in our sight, holding on by stirrup and mane, but 
completely hidden from one who might be looking from 
the other side. 

Wonderful Agility. The chief was delighted, in his dig- 
nified quiet way, as I burst into warm encomiums, and told 
me I should soon see " some more " riding. Again the 
horsemen dashed past. This time I watched for their 
disappearance and saw where and how they went, but 
I was scarcely prepared to see many of them peeping at 
me from under the bellies of their animals. This was done 
several times; then Pacoda gave me another treat. The 
riders came toward us. At a sign, every man sprang from 
his horse to the ground, to our left, gave three or four wild 
jumps, sprang completely over the saddle to the other side 
of his horse, where he gave more jumps, and then, with a 
yell of joyful triumph, landed into his saddle, the horse, 
meanwhile, keeping up his speed. 

An Impressive Spectacle. But to see the whole party 
ride furiously away from us, nothing but black hair, sturdy 
backs, horses' tails and hindquarters with galloping feet 
presented, and then, in the twinkle of an eye it almost 
seemed, to have the same party dashing towards you, was 
a feat in horsemanship which impressed me most pro- 
foundly. 

Horsemen almost from Birth. It is not to be wondered at 
that the Navaho is an expert horseman. He is as nearly 
born on horseback, literally, as he can be, for on several 
occasions I have ridden with Navaho friends, among whom 



170 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

was an expectant mother, have stopped half an hour for 
the birth, and then, with the new-born babe strapped on 
the mother's back, have resumed the trip, completing, per- 
haps, forty or fifty miles in a day. Children born under 
such conditions could not fail to be skilful horsemen. 



CHAPTER XXII 

FROM EL TOVAR TO THE HAVASUPAI INDIANS AND THEIR 
WONDERFUL CATARACT CANYON HOMES 

Havasu Canyon. The Grand Canyon has two important 
tributary canyons. The most important of these is the 
Havasu Chic-i-mi-mi (canyon of the blue water). This is 
where the Havasupai Indians live. 

First White Visitor. The first white man to visit the 
Havasu, as far as we know, was Padre Francisco Garces, 
of whom I have written in another chapter. Four times 
he made long journeys into the interior, visiting a large num- 
ber of Indian tribes. Among these were the Wallapais and 
the Havasupais. 

Garces' Diary. Dr. Elliott Coues, who visited the Hava- 
supais in 1881 with a governmental party, has translated 
Garces' diary, and it was published a short time ago by 
Francis P. Harper, of New York. In this translation, he 
describes the descent of his (Coues's) party into the Canyon, 
and his description is so vivid that it is well worth repe- 
tition here. 

Dr. Coues' Description of Trail to Havasu Canyon. " On 
the loth, a march often miles in the same direction brought 
us abruptly to the brink of the precipice — a sharp-edged 
jump-off of perhaps a thousand feet. There was no side 
canyon here for gradual descent; the firm level ground gave 
no hint of the break before us until we were actually upon 
the verge, and when the soldiers lined up to look down 
an involuntary murmur of astonishment ran through the 
ranks. Dismounting and going in single file, each man 



172 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

leading his horse, we took the dizzy trail — a narrow foot- 
path, in many parts of which a misstep would have been 
destruction to man or beast. The way zigzagged at first 
for some distance, on the ' switchback ' principle by which 
railroads sometimes make grades otherwise impracticable; 
the face of the precipice was so steep that, as we filed 
along, those of us at the head of the procession looked up 
to see the other sections of the train almost overhead; 
certainly a fall of any man there would have been right on 
top of us. Then the trail took a long lurch to the left with 
little descent, hugging the face of the cliff, and we looked 
like a row of ants on a wall. This brought us at length 
to the head of a great talus, down which the trail zigzagged 
— the incline was too steep for straight descent, probably 
at an angle of forty-five degrees. This fetched us into 
the bed of Cataract Canyon, perfectly dry. The trail was 
nearly a mile long, and it took us an hour to make our 
creepy way down. The Havasupai chief, who had been 
advised of our coming, was there to meet us with some of 
his men, all mounted; and he took us up the canyon about 
five miles to a place where there was a scanty aguage, not 
sufficing for the wants of the whole party. Next morning 
we retraced our steps down the canyon and kept on in its 
bed until we reached the wonderful blue spring above de- 
scribed and the wonderful rancheria of the Indians, a dis- 
tance from last night's camp of about twenty-five miles, 
as we had struck the canyon some twenty miles above the 
living water." 

Other Trails to the Canyon. Garces came into the can- 
yon by another trail, entirely distinct from this, commonly 
known as the Wallapai Trail. He left Havasu Canyon 
by still another trail, known as the Moki Trail, which 
leads directly from this canyon to the home of the Hopis. 

In 1857, Lieutenant Joseph C. Ives made the descent 
into Havasu Canyon down the Wallapai Trail. His ac- 
count of the journey reads like a novel, and people who are 
unfamiliar with the wonderful engineering feats of the Ha- 











Ui^:^>^^?^t% 




ial^/:^'"i? 



■V - I 










^ 



Lopyiight, 1899, by F. H. Maude. 
AT THE HEAD OF TOPOCOBYA TRAIL INTO HAVASU CANYON. 

Page 55 




IN HAVASU CANYON. 
Page 173 




COLORADO K1\"ER AT FOOT OF OLD 1L\XCK TRAIL 
Page 53 



THE WONDERFUL CATARACT CANYON 173 

vasu Indians can scarcely believe that Ives did not allov^ his 
imagination to run avv^ay with him, in his descriptions 
of the Havasupais' trails. 

Later, Lieutenant Gushing, guided by his Indian friends, 
rode across country to the Hopis, and then secured a Hopi 
guide who took him to see the Havasupais over the Moki 
Trail. He confirms all that Ives and Coues have written 
of the astonishing character of these trails. Having been 
up and down these trails many times during the last dozen 
years, I can say without hesitation that there are no more 
startling trails to be found in our Southwest. 

Trip from El Tovar. One of the most enjoyable of the 
more arduous trips taken by visitors to El Tovar is this 
trip to Havasu (Cataract) Canyon. Only those who enjoy 
a strenuous outing should arrange for this trip, and then 
plenty of time should be allowed to do it without too great 
rushing. The first portion, to the head of the Topocobya 
Trail, is generally done in a buckboard. The distance is 
thirty-five to forty miles, over a varying road, — good in 
places, fair in others, and wretchedly poor now and again. 
Arrived at the " hill-top," as the Indians call this point, 
the conveyance must be abandoned, and all the outfit for 
sleeping, cooking, and eating is transferred to the backs 
of pack animals, which have been sent on ahead. The vis- 
itors take saddle animals. There are those who make this 
drive, and then ride to the village, fifteen miles further 
down the trail, in one day. A better plan is either to make 
*' dry camp " at the head of the Topocobya Trail; or, if 
time permits, descend to the Topocobya Spring, which 
flows out of the base of the immense cliff down which one 
fork of the trail descends. For there are now two ways 
of descending at Topocobya, — to the right or the left 
of a mountain which overlooks the Canyon. The trail 
by which I first entered Havasu Canyon is the one to the 
left, looking into the Canyon. 

Topocobya Spring. Arrived at the spring, the stock 
can be watered, packs removed, beds unrolled, and camp 



174 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

made for the night. The water, however, is not of the 
best for drinking purposes, though the Indians habitually 
use it. 

Pictographs. The following morning an early start may 
be made, and the winding course of Topocobya Canyon 
followed to its entrance into the main Havasu Canyon. 
Here a number of interesting pictographs may be seen on 
the wall to the left, reminding one somewhat of those 
found in Mallery Grotto at El Tovar. 

Havasupai Gardens.'' Except in the rainy season, the 
upper portions of the main Havasu Canyon and all its 
tributaries are dry and sandy. Just before one reaches the 
village, however, the barrenness disappears. A thousand 
springs appear, and unite to form a stream which, in less 
than a hundred yards, will measure from four to six feet 
deep and fully eight feet across. It is this stream that ren- 
ders life possible for the Indians. For the distance of about 
two miles, the bed of the Canyon, which is here filled with 
sandy earth, is irrigated from this rapidly flowing stream. 
The result is that with comparatively little labor the Hava- 
supais are able to produce excellent crops of corn, beans, 
chillis, onions, melons, squash and other vegetables. After 
the advent of the Spaniards, they obtained peach trees, 
and they now grow far more peaches than they can eat, 
drying large quantities, some of which they sell to ranchers, 
miners and other outsiders. They also have fine figs. 

The Havasupai " Hawa." The house of a Havasupai 

' Since this chapter was put into type, the Havasupai village 
has been swept nearly out of existence by a flood. The winter 
of 1909—1910 saw a large fall of snow on the plateau, which, 
melting suddenly during a hot spell in January, rushed down the 
Canyon in a body, destroyed the school, agent's house, and took 
away nearly all the hawas, fields, and orchards of the Indians. 
This catastrophe has several times occurred to them (according 
to their traditions), so there is litde doubt but that they will ere 
long replant their cornfields and reestablish their homes in the 
spot they love so well. 



THE WONDERFUL CATARACT CAm'ON 175 

is called a " hawa." It is a primitive structure, generally 
built of Cottonwood poles, willows and earth. Occasion- 
ally one of the leading men will put up a more pretentious 
home, whose sides will be of matted willows, plastered in- 
side and out with mud, and with a mud-covered roof which 
will turn the rain. 

A Basket-maker's Paradise. There are about thirty 
basket-makers among the Havasupais, and specimens of 
their work may be found in the Hopi House. As Havasu 
Creek is lined with willows that are admirably adapted 
for basket-making, and as an abundant supply of martynia, 
or cat's-claw, is found on the plateaus above, this Canyon is 
a veritable basket-makers' paradise. Their best work is 
done in the coiled stitch. The esuwas, or water-bottles, are 
made out of the twined weave, and then covered with pinion 
gum. 

Beautiful Waterfalls. Havasu Canyon is interesting, not 
only on account of its Indians, but because of its narrow 
walls reaching up to the very heavens and shutting out the 
sun except for the midday hours, and the beautiful blue water 
flowing in its willow-fringed bed, which finally dashes in 
successive leaps into the lower depths, making several 
cataracts, one of which I regard as the most exquisite water- 
fall in the world. As a consequence, it is becoming a great 
attraction for travelers. 

Bridal Veil Falls. There are five falls in all, occurring 
in the following order: Havasupai, Navaho, Bridal Veil, 
Mooney and Beaver. The last three are the most important. 
Bridal Veil is about one hundred and seventy feet high, 
and five hundred feet broad, but this space is not entirely 
covered with water. The edge is so broken that the water 
dashes over the precipice in a large number of streams, 
and falling upon several different ledges, is again broken 
mto a dashing spray, which, light and feathery, again 
leaps into the air. The general effect is indescribably 
beautiful. 

The visitor should not fail to cross the Creek either above 



176 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

or below the Bridal Veil Falls, for on the further side are a 
number of water concretions well worth seeing. 

Mooney Falls. Mooney Falls, one mile farther down, 
is a much higher cataract, but the water falls in an undivided 
stream. It gets its name from an unfortunate miner, who, 
in trying to descend a rope ladder to the bottom of the 
falls, fell, and was dashed to pieces. 

Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls are about four miles farther 
down the Canyon, and receive their name from the large 
number of beavers that used to be at work in the stream 
close by. 

By recent survey of this region, it has been found that these 
falls are not included in the Havasupai reservation. It is 
to be hoped, however, that, before it is too late, this Canyon, 
its waterfalls and surroundings, will be made into a National 
Park, forever and inalienably to belong to the people. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE FIRST DISCOVERERS AND INHABITANTS OF THE GRAND 

CANYON 

A Barren Waste of Rock. While the Grand Canyon, its 
vast system of tributaries, and its plateau were being up- 
lifted from the primeval ocean, it consisted of nothing but 
a wild, barren waste of rock. Not a tree, not a shrub, not 
a flower, not a blade of grass relieved the monotony of the 
wilderness of rocks which emerged from the great Eocene 
sea. Not a lizard, horned toad, centipede, tarantula, chuck- 
walla, campamouche,^ frog, tree-toad, turtle or snake 
was to be found on the long stretching areas of its lifeless 
shores. Not a chipmunk, prairie-dog, coyote, rat, mouse, 
porcupine, fox, bear, mountain-lion, badger, deer, ante- 
lope or other four-footed creature ran over its new-born 
surfaces. The sun shone unhindered; the rain beat with 
pitiless fury; the winds swept unhampered; the snows 
piled up undeterred over the whole plateau and canyon 
country. It was plateau and canyon, canyon and plateau; 
red rock, gray rock, creamy rock, yellow, pink, blue, choco- 
late, carmine, crimson rock, soft rock, hard rock; sunshine, 
shadow, wind and quietude; winter, summer, autumn, 
spring — and that was all ! A lifeless world, as yet unprepared 
for insect, reptile, beast, man, flower or tree. Perhaps 
a solitary sea-bird with strong pinion flew over it, and gazed 
into its lifeless depths with wonder, or a dove flew from 
some earlier and habitable land over this wonderful mass 

' An insect that looks like a tiny dried wisp of hay, well-known 
in Arizona. 



178 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

of rock, and returned to its nest and its mate. But no olive 
or other leaf was in its bill. 

And so the land was born, and rested, while silence, 
sunshine and solitude brooded over it. 

Creation of Soil and Verdure. But in the course of ages, 
soil was created by the disintegration of the rocks by the 
weather and the atmosphere, seeds were blown in from 
regions where flowers and plants bloomed, or were carried 
in by birds, and later distributed by the four-footed crea- 
tures. Then verdure sprang into life; the gentle grasses 
and flowers began to cover the slopes and level places where 
soil had gathered, and the trees came to sway and swing 
in the breezes, and sing their songs of coming life to the 
hitherto barren rocks. 

Fossils of Sea Creatures. Yet they had not been alto- 
gether lifeless. Many of the rocks had known life, but 
it was not insect, reptile, bird, beast or man life; neither 
did they known anything of grass, flower, shrub or tree 
life. In the far-away ages, when they were being deposited 
deep under the surface of the Eocene sea, they saw vast 
monsters floating in the salty deep, and later, fishes of all 
sizes, and even great beds of waving sea-moss and ferns 
floated back and forth, as the tides ebbed and flowed. And 
fishes and ferns, monsters and moss were occasionally 
caught in the flowing deposits of lime and sand and silt 
and clay, and were embedded in their mass. Thus im- 
prisoned, their otherwise forgotten life and history is told 
to the ages of man that were as yet unborn. 

Coming of Man. But now the new life is coming! With 
verdure and animal life in existence, these hitherto unin- 
habitable regions became capable of sustaining human life. 
And the restless spirit of the human race, wherever and 
howsoever it originated, drove bands of men and women 
into this region. 

Who were they ? What were they like ? Whence did 
they come ? How long did they stay .? Whither did they 
go ? are questions one naturally asks in regard to these 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 179 

first discoverers and inhabitants. If I were to say " I do 
not know," I would be saying what every other thinking man 
is compelled to say. Yet there is pleasure in conjecture. 

Traces of Ruins. Before looking at these conjectures, 
however, it is appropriate that we look first at what facts 
there are to justify them. Suppositions without any facts 
are mere fictions of the imagination, and this we are not 
indulging in. When in our day men began to explore the 
Grand Canyon and its numberless tributaries, a great num- 
ber of indications of man's presence were found on the rim, 
on the fault lines or breaks in the sheer precipitous walls, 
on the plateaus and in the Canyon beneath, in the shape 
of crude house ruins, lookout houses or forts, indifferent 
trails, cliff-dwellings, hewn-out water cisterns, mescal pits, 
with countless pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, stone 
axes, hammers, mortars, pestles and even cemeteries or 
places of cremation. 

Evidences of Superior Civilization. Major J. W. Powell, 
in his journal of explorations, writes that when he and his 
party reached the mouth of the Uinta River, they went up 
to the agency of the Indians of the same name. While 
visiting the Indians, and noting their fertile, irrigated farms, 
he found many evidences that " this beautiful valley has 
been the home of a people of a higher grade of cultivation 
than the present Utes. On our way here yesterday, we 
discovered, in many places along the trail, fragments of 
pottery, and wandering about the little farms to-day I 
find the foundations of ancient houses and mealing stones 
that were not used by nomadic people, as they are too heavy 
to be transported by such tribes, and are deeply worn. 
The Indians, seeing that I am interested in these matters, 
take pains to show me several other places where these 
evidences remain, and tell me that they know nothing 
about the people who formerly dwelt here. They further 
tell me that up in the Canyon the rocks are covered with 
pictures." 

Ancient Dwellings. When Powell and his party reached 



180 THE GRAND CAN\'ON OF ARIZONA 

the junction of the San Juan with the Colorado, they might 
have found a large number of ancient dweUings in the 
cHfFs not far away from where Bluff City now stands. 

Further on, when the Bright Angel was discovered (the 
beautiful stream and canyon on the north side of the 
Canyon directly opposite El Tovar), the story of which is 
told in a separate chapter. Major Powell went up a little 
gulch, just above Bright Angel Creek, about two hundred 
yards from their camp on the Colorado, and there he dis- 
covered the ruins of two or three old houses, which were 
originally of stone, laid in mortar. Only the foundations 
were left, but irregular blocks, of which the houses were 
constructed, were found lying scattered about. In one room 
he found an old mealing stone, deeply worn, as if it had been 
much used. A great deal of pottery was strewn around, 
and old trails, which in some places were deeply worn into 
the rocks, were seen. 

Ruins of a Village. Between the foot of what is now the 
Bright Angel Trail and Bass's Cable Crossing, Major Powell 
discovered another group of ruins. " There was evidently 
quite a village on this rock. Again we find the mealing stones, 
and much broken pottery, and up in a little natural shelf 
in the rock, back of the ruins, we find a globular basket, 
that would hold perhaps a third of a bushel. It is badly 
broken, and, as I attempt to take it up, it falls to pieces. 
There are many beautiful flint chips, as if this had been the 
home of an old arrow-maker." 

Old Gardens. Later, when white men began to go down 
the trail now known as the Bright Angel Trail (the one 
near to El Tovar), the remnants of gardens, with irriga- 
ting ditches, in which small pieces of Indian pottery were 
scattered about, were discovered. The place is known to- 
day as Indian Garden, and is seen from the upper porch 
of the hotel. 

Stone Huts. In his account of Powell's second expedi- 
tion, Dellenbaugh tells of ancient ruins found below Laby- 
rinth Canyon. " Small huts for storage were found there 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 181 

in the cliffs, and on a promontory, about thirty feet above 
the water, were the ruins of stone buildings, one of which, 
twelve by twenty feet in dimensions, had walls still standing 
about six feet high. The Canyon here was some six hun- 
dred feet high, though the top of the plateau through which 
the Canyon is carved is at least fifteen hundred feet above 
the river. We discovered the trail by which the old Pueb- 
loans had made their way in and out. Where necessity 
called for it, poles and tree-trunks had been placed against 
the rocks to aid the climbers. Some of our party trusted 
themselves to these ancient ladders, and with the aid of a 
rope also, reached the summit." These Indians had tilled 
a small piece of arable land in an alcove near by. 

An Old Indian Fortress. Hance found a number of clifF 
ruins and the remnants of old houses on and near his trail, 
and on the Red Canyon Trail. It was the discovery of 
an old Indian lookout fortress, located on the very edge 
of the Canyon where Bass Camp now is, that led Bass to 
hunt for the trail into the Canyon. This fortress is about 
fifteen feet square, outside measurement, and consists of 
one room, twelve feet square, with a lookout in the eastern 
wall, which is still to be seen. Remnants of the walls still 
stand, and at one corner are fully ten feet high. About a 
mile below this fortress, were discovered two large native 
water-storage tanks or reservoirs, which, when cleaned out, 
were capable of holding many hundreds of gallons of 
water. Further down, on the plateaus beneath, several 
large pits for the cooking of mescal were discovered. 

Cooking of Mescal. This mescal is the succulent and 
sweet inner leaf of the agave deserti, which is found in 
large quantities in this region. The Indians still prepare 
it in the same manner as did their forefathers. The larger 
thick leaves are taken from the plants when they are full 
of sap. Great pits are dug and lined with rocks. Into these 
pits dry wood, roots, pine cones, etc., are thrown and set 
on fire, until the whole oven is thoroughly heated. On the 
hot rocks are then laid the pulpy stalks of the agave; over 



182 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

these is placed a layer of wet grass; then more agave or 
mescal leaves, more grass, and so on, until the pit is full. 
Then the oven and its contents are banked over v^^ith earth, 
and allowed to steam and cook for three or four days. The 
woman in charge is an expert in determining when her 
" bread is baked." She thrusts stalks of the agave into the 
heart of the pit before it is finally closed up, and when she 
deems " time up," she pulls forth one of these stalks. If 
it is not done to her liking, she allows the process to con- 
tinue; otherwise the banked up earth is removed, and the 
contents of the pit withdrawn and placed upon adjacent 
rocks to dry. It now looks like large cakes of brownish 
fibres, thoroughly saturated in molasses. In taste it is 
sweet and fairly palatable, though the fibres render it a 
food that requires a large amount of mastication. It has 
great staying qualities, contains much nutrition, and will 
keep for months, even years. I have eaten pieces of it 
that were sweet and good over three years after it was 
made. 

Unlimited Fragments of Pottery. In my own wanderings 
of nearly twenty years in the Grand and Havasu Canyons 
and their smaller tributary gorges, I have discovered scores 
of these cliff-dwellings. Ruins uncounted are to be found 
scattered along the rim, within five to ten miles of the Can- 
yon, and thousands of pieces of pottery of old design have 
been picked up by the visitors of the past fifteen years. 

On the Shinumo, opposite the Bass Trail, are several 
cliff-dwellings, and as late as the summer of 1908 a young 
couple camped there for a month on their wedding trip, 
excavated and discovered a fine stone axe, numbers of 
pieces of pottery of three different kinds, several pieces with 
holes bored with the primitive drill of flint or obsidian, 
a fine spear-head of flint, and a number of arrow points. 

Similarity of Cliff Ruins. The whole region of Arizona, 
New Mexico, Southern Utah, and Southern Colorado 
abounds in these cliff ruins. The likeness of their appear- 
ance, and the fact that everything excavated is of a similar 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 183 

kind, seems to indicate a relationship, both in time of occu- 
pancy and in the peoples who built and tenanted them. 

The questions now naturally arise: Who were these 
people ? What was their life ? Whence did they come ? 
Whither have they gone ? 

The Race of the Cliff Dwellers. In the earlier days of 
America's serious researches into her own archaeology, 
those who led our thought on the subject, though personally 
they had not seen the cliff-dwellings, declared them to be 
the homes of the Aztecs, one of the Mexican races found by 
Cortes below the City of Mexico. Hence to-day we find 
people talking about the Aztecs and their ruined homes in 
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. We used to 
read of the wonder of the discoverers of these dwellings, at 
finding them so small. The doorways were small, the rooms 
themselves less than six feet in width and length, and the 
ceilings so low that a five-foot man could not stand up- 
right in them. It was reasonable therefore to infer, said 
these discoverers, that the builders and inhabitants of the 
cliff-dwellings were an exceedingly small people, dwarfs, 
as in no other way could the rooms be occupied. And 
thousands of people who have read about these ruins 
still hold to the idea that they were inhabited by dwarfs. 
But who the dwarfs were, or where they have gone to, no 
one seems to have the remotest idea. But by and by, such 
men as Bandelier, the Mendeleffs, Stevenson, Cushing, 
Fewkes, Hough, Hodge and Hewett, began to investigate. 
They took the field, and carefully explored hundreds of 
ruins. Then, some of them with a profound knowledge 
of the Spanish tongue, went through all the records and dia- 
ries of the old conquistadores and the padres who accom- 
panied them. They found out all that the early Spaniards 
had discovered and conjectured. In the meantime, they 
began to study the languages of the Indians of the regions 
nearest to the ruins, and question them as to their myths, 
legends, and traditions bearing upon the ruins, and their 
researches speedily bore fruit. 



184 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Storage Houses. First of all they classified their discov- 
eries. Though scores of skeletons were found> there was 
not a single dwarf specimen among them. This seemed to 
be a death blow to the dwarf theory. Stone slabs were used 
as doors. Necessarily these were comparatively small, 
since even though large slabs might have been found, they 
could not have been moved by the cliff-dwellers, on account 
of their weight. This, in itself, accounted for the size of 
the doorways. It had long been noticed that these small 
dwellings were scattered profusely where there were larger 
dwellings, and finally it became known that the small 
dwellings were not used for habitations at all. They were 
merely storage houses for corn and other edibles, farmed 
by the inhabitants of the larger dwellings. On one occa- 
sion, some years ago, I was exploring one of the side gorges 
of the Havasu. We had seen scores of the cliff dwellings, 
perched high in the walls of the canyons, until at length 
one particularly well-built, though exceedingly small 
structure attracted my attention. My guide was the most 
intelligent and communicative of the Havasupai Indians, 
and he immediately responded to my query by crying out: 
" Meala-hawa! Meala-hawa! " (Corn house). Further 
inquiry revealed the fact that all the small dwellings were 
but storage houses for corn and other foods. 

Textiles. Excavation brought forth delicate textiles in 
cotton and yucca fibre, well-woven, and in a remarkable 
state of preservation — silent testimony to the dry climate, 
and the fact that the dwellings were so constructed that 
rain and snow were practically excluded. Basketry and 
pottery in large quantities were found, all showing ability 
in manufacture, also artistic skill, and aesthetic conception 
in the form of the articles and the designs portrayed upon 
them. 

Excavated Relics. Stone hammers and axes, obsidian, 
flint and other arrow-heads, spear-heads, and knives, 
mortars and pestles, metates or meal grinders, obsidian 
and flint drills for making holes through stone or shell. 




BUTTON POINT AND AiASUNiC TLAii'LE i-ROAi GRAM) 

SCENIC DIVIDE. 

Page 40 




F. P. Clatworthy. Photo. 

NORTH FROM GRAND VIEW POINT. 








■^ tui 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 185 

bows and arrows, — the bows of tough wood often brought 
from afar, and the arrows pointed with chipped flint or 
obsidian, deftly and securely tied to the shaft with tough 
and durable strings of sinews; shell beads, pipes, bone awls, 
punches, needles, etc.; stone fetiches in semblance of ani- 
mals, the like of which were never seen on land or sea; or- 
naments of shell, turquoise and onyx, and even a kind of 
jade; sandals and mats of yucca fibre, and exquisitely 
delicate feather robes, — these are some of the things that 
the excavators have found. Corn-cobs, melon rinds and 
grass seeds may be added to the list. 

Old Cemeteries. Then — most interesting of finds — 
a number of cemeteries were located, and these were raked 
and scraped over until every visible secret hidden in their 
depths was brought into the light of the sun. 

Tracing the Indian Races. Now here were numbers of 
facts to work upon. Then the myths, legends and tradi- 
tions of the Indians living near by were carefully collected 
and studied, and light began to dawn in the minds of our 
archaeologists. The Hopis in Northern Arizona, the Zunis 
in New Mexico, the Acomas who live on the massive cliff 
twenty miles south of the Santa Fe Railway at Laguna 
Station, the score of pueblos on the banks of the Rio Grande, 
even to far-away Taos, — all contributed their share to 
the elucidation of the mystery. Even the semi-nomadic 
Navaho had something to say which helped. Gushing 
found among the Zuni stories galore of their struggles 
with the fierce and warlike wandering tirbes, who constantly 
harassed the home-loving people who built their rude 
villages. Fewkes not only unearthed whole cities of the 
past, but gained from the nearby Hopis their traditions, 
which told in reasonable and intelligible form what was most 
probably their history. He listened while their old men and 
women recited the stories and legends of their migration 
from the south northwards, and how certain families or 
clans came from this or that direction, building and in- 
habiting certain now ruined dwellings in ages long past. 



186 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Others heard similar stories, which they investigated as 
far as possible, compared with the ruins named, and then 
recorded, with such discovered facts as helped in the eluci- 
dation of the problems involved. 

Ancestors of the Pueblo People. All these investigations 
pointed to one great fact, and that was that the cliff and cave 
dwellers of the Grand Canyon region and all the contigu- 
ous country were none other than the ancestors of the 
present pueblo people, — those who live in the Hopi vil- 
lages, the Zuni villages, Acoma, Laguna, Santo Domingo, 
Isleta, Teseque, Jemez, Taos, San Ildefonso, Zia and the 
rest. 

With this luminous fact before them, a greater study 
began of these pueblo people, and it was then found that, 
to this day, they use the same utensils, make the same im- 
plements, wear the same ornaments, follow the same 
burial customs, and generally live the same life that these 
ancient cliff-dwellers did. The conclusions, therefore, are 
obvious and inevitable. The cliff-dwellers were none 
other than the ancestors of the pueblo people, a little less 
advanced, doubtless, in the march of civilization, yet al- 
ready far progressed from the rude civilization of the 
nomad. They were driven to occupy the inaccessible 
cliffs by the constant attacks of the warlike nomads. 

Sedentary and Home-loving Indians. Thus the cliff- 
dwellings become interesting memorials of the great fight 
for existence, where one race has striven to the very death 
with other races, and the weaker have either given way or 
been swept out of existence. The picture is easy to draw. 
The country was peopled with these sedentary and home- 
loving Indians. They had come largely from the south, 
had settled down, had built their humble villages, tilled 
their fields and cultivated their crops. The women made 
baskets and pottery, and the men hunted game, while the 
women prepared it for food, and gathered seeds, nuts and 
roots to eke out their not over-extensive dietary. Young 
men and women grew up, felt the dawnings of love and the 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 187 

final awakenings of the great passion, and then married, 
settled down in a house the community helped them to 
build, and began to work a piece of land selected for 
them, or at least approved, by the town council. For, 
even in those early days, there is every evidence that 
these people had a definite and distinct form of demo- 
cratic government, to the elected officials of which 
they yielded an almost perfect reverence and obedience. 
In due time, happy and healthy children were born to 
them. 

Peaceful and Religious. They were a religious people, 
were these early dwellers in the land. They built kivas 
and estufas, — under and above ground ceremonial cham- 
bers, — where they regularly and decorously met to worship 
by dance, recitation of ancient songs, telling of divine lead- 
ings and interpositions on their behalf, smoking, singing, 
prayer, and the observance of other ritual. Thus happy, 
contented and basking in the favor of Those Above, they 
dwelt, until suddenly a new and unfavorable element was 
injected into their hitherto peaceful life. The bufFetings 
of nature they had become accustomed to, and they had 
kept their bodies healthy so as to resist these assaults, 
but now human storms were about to burst upon them. 
Apaches in the south, Comanches and Navahos in the 
east, Utes and Navahos in the north, Mohaves and Yumas 
in the west began to encroach upon them. Envious eyes 
gazed upon their houses and the goods that industry and 
skill had gathered within Those who had no food stored 
when famine swooped upon them, came and begged from 
those who had. By and by jealousy and envy prompted 
theft, and then strife began. Strife spread and grew, until 
war in all its horrors became the normal condition. In 
self preservation, these peaceable, friendly, hospitable 
peoples were compelled to be warriors. But their foes 
were many and crafty, skilful in war, wary in attack and 
retreat. Their harassments became more than could be 
borne, so, in their desperation, the peaceable people re- 



188 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

treated to the cliffs and walls of the Canyons, where surprise 
could be guarded against, where a small supply of water 
could be reasonably sure, and where, not too far away, 
when permitted to do so, they might cultivate a small 
piece of arable land. 

Compelled to Wage War. Think of the state of affairs! 
A state of perpetual siege and watchfulness, of readiness 
to fight at any moment, of keeping lookouts on the alert day 
and night, of working in the fields with one hand on the 
implements of peace and industry, and the other on the 
implements of war. The night attack, murder, rapine, 
fire and bloodshed became common experiences, and the 
discovery of many bodies, the skulls crushed with battle- 
axes, of skeletons of men slain with the deadly arrow, 
of bodies twisted by torture and charred by fire, reveal what 
a reign of terror and dread that epoch must have been 
in the land of the cliff-dweller. 

Houses Became Fortresses. For how many decades or 
centuries this lasted, we do not know. Somewhat un- 
certain tradition is all we have to rely upon. But ultimately 
the pressure became less severe. In some cases, hostilities 
largely ceased; in others, they became less constant. So 
the pueblos we find in existence to-day slowly began to 
arise. One by one, the bands of cliff-dwellers dared to 
leave their wall fortresses and to build in more congenial 
places, nearer to their fields and springs or water-courses. 
But, taught by past experience, they made their homes into 
fortresses. The houses were massed together, largely 
for protective purposes; there was no means of easy en- 
trance to the bottom story (they were built from two to 
seven stories high), the only way provided being by a hatch- 
way and ladder from the roof. The rooms of the second 
story were thrust back a little, so that the roof of the first 
story formed a kind of courtyard for its inhabitants. Lad- 
ders that could easily be removed afforded ingress and 
egress, and the doorways could be guarded by flat slabs of 
rock. Numerous loop-holes afforded outlook points, and 



THE FIRST DISCOVERERS 189 

also opportunity for the shooting of poisoned arrows upon 
an oncoming ioe. 

Buildings in Inaccessible Places. In some cases, as that 
of the Hopi villages, Acoma and old Zuni, the new towns 
were erected upon almost inaccessible mesas, the steep 
trails of which could be securely guarded against an army 
by a handful of hidden men. 

Arrival of Spaniards. This was the state of affairs when 
the Spaniards marched into the country (after the recon- 
naissance of Fray Marcos), under the leadership of Coro- 
nado and his lieutenant, the ensign Tovar. Hence it will 
be seen that the original discoverers and inhabitants of 
the Grand Canyon were evidently the ancestors of the 
present pueblo peoples. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

EL TOVAR AND CARDENAS AND THE MODERN DISCOVERY 
OF THE GRAND CANYON 

The Spanish Conquistadores. Few romances are more 
fascinating than the history of the early -exploitations 
of this continent by the Spanish conquistadores. Cortes, 
Pizarro, Guzman, Narvaez, Coronado are names to con- 
jure with. The wonderful successes of Cortes naturally 
excited the jealous envy and cupidity of his compeers. 
In his earlier experiences, Cortes had aroused the anger of 
Velasquez, Governor of Cuba, Cortes, in one of his many 
acts of gallantry, had betrayed the sister of Velasquez's 
mistress. When Velasquez learned the facts, he peremp- 
torily commanded Cortes, who was his subordinate, to 
marry the unhappy girl. Refusals and imprisonments, 
threats and anger were the natural consequences, and, 
while Cortes did ultimately marry her, the enmity thus en- 
gendered bore bitter fruit for the husband. 

Breach between Cortes and Velasquez. When Cortes 
made his effective conquests on the mainland and sought 
to supplant Velasquez, the breach between the two men 
considerably widened. Both sought, with embassies, the ear 
of the King of Spain, Charles V, and while the future con- 
queror made a deep impression with his reports of con- 
quests to come and treasures already in hand, the Gov- 
ernor's friends were not slow to act. Meanwhile, Cortes 
had hit upon the bold plan of destroying his ships, and thus 
compelling his men to march to the subjugation of Mexico. 
Velasquez was about to dispatch Panfilo de Narvaez with 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 191 

a commission as captain-general to arrest him, and send 
him in chains to Cuba. The king, however, would not 
permit this, and Narvaez was sent forth charged to be 
friendly to Cortes. But this was not to be. Events pre- 
vented, and Narvaez finally decided to place Cortes and his 
whole army under arrest. This was a great undertaking, 
and required skilful generalship, as well as boldness and 
skill in execution. Though a gallant warrior, Narvaez 
was not equal to the task he had set himself, and Cortes, 
having learned what was before him, turned the tables 
upon Narvaez and his force by becoming the arrestor 
instead of the arrested. It requires no great knowledge 
of human nature to picture the fierce anger of Narvaez and 
his men. When Cortes eventually released them, it was on 
condition that he be left alone, and that Narvaez return 
to Spain. The defeated man, with anger burning his jealous 
heart to a white heat, did return, and immediately de- 
manded of the king some mission that should allow him to 
remove the disgrace from his name. To get rid of him, 
the king sent him to the conquest of what is now Florida. 

Expedition to Florida. It was a brave expedition that 
set forth on a bright day in June, 1527. Five ships and six 
hundred men made quite a showing, yet the Atlantic Ocean, 
aided by storms and winds, flouted and routed them, so 
that it was April of the following year before the main part 
of the expedition landed at Tampa Bay. Of the total 
destruction of the party, save Cabeza de Vaca and three or 
four others, all readers are fairly familiar, as they are 
likewise of De Vaca's wonderful eight years' journey across 
the continent. 

Arrival at San Miguel. I have thus rapidly traced these 
events in the early history of the exploration of this conti- 
nent, for it was the wanderings of Cabeza de Vaca and his 
final arrival at San Miguel in New Galicia that brought 
the Ensign Tovar into Arizona, and led to the discovery of 
the Grand Canyon. 

Preliminary Reconnaissance. The Viceroy of New Spain 



192 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

at that time was Antonio de Mendoza, a wise, loyal and far- 
seeing man. He was anxious to checkmate Cortes, and to 
show that others besides the great, though treacherous 
conqueror, could make discoveries of new lands, where 
gold was abundant, and where colonies could be established. 
Yet he would not be rash. Before sending out a large ex- 
pedition to conquer the cities and fertile land Cabeza de 
Vaca had described, it would be wise and cautious to send a 
cool-headed man, one who was prepared for any hardship, 
one who had no lust for gold in his own soul, yet who could 
be relied upon to bring back a straight and true story to the 
viceroy as to whatever he might discover concerning De 
Vaca's stories. He should be accompanied by Stephen, the 
negro, who was one of De Vaca's companions, and thus he 
would be accurately guided to the places that had been 
described. The man chosen for this important recon- 
naissance was a devoted Franciscan, Fray Marcos, to whom 
I have devoted the next chapter of this book. Marcos went, 
saw, returned and reported, and upon his report the expe- 
dition of Coronado was equipped and fitted out. 

Coronado's Army. The fervor with which the Spanish 
gallants joined Coronado's army of exploration is realized 
when one remembers that three hundred Spaniards as well 
as eight hundred Indians were gathered together in a few 
days. Coronado was a Spanish grandee, traveling at the 
time of De Vaca's arrival as a royal official visitor. In the 
words of Castaiieda he was "a gentleman from Salamanca, 
who had married a lady in the City of Mexico, the daughter 
of Alonso de Estrada, the treasurer and at one time governor 
of Mexico, and the son (most people said) of his Catholic 
Majesty Don Ferdinand, and many state it as certain." 
And the same historian later on continues, in his simple 
and naive way, to tell us about Tovar and many others: 
" When the Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, saw what 
a noble company had come together, and the spirit and good 
will with which they had all presented themselves, know- 
ing the worth of these men, he would have liked very 




Copyright, 1S9S, by George Wharton James. 
THE MARBLE CANYON, COLORADO RI\ER. 
Page lOQ 




Putnam &r Valentine, Photos. 

CAMP IN COCONINO FOREST NEAR POINT SUBLIME. 
Page 49 




J'lihnnn cr Valentine, Photos. 

TRAIL PARTY STARTING FROM SIIINUMO CAMP. 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 193 

well to make every one of them captain of an army; but 
as the whole number was small he could not do as he would 
have liked, and so he appointed the captains and officers 
because it seemed to him that if they were appointed by him, 
as he was so v/ell obeyed and beloved, nobody would find 
fault with his arrangements. After everybody had heard 
who the general was (Coronado), he made Don Pedro 
de Tovar ensign general, a young gentleman who was the 
son of Don Fernando de Tovar, the guardian and high 
steward of the Queen Dona Juana, our demented mistress 
— may she be in glory." 

A Brilliant and Gallant Company. After the naming of 
their officers, Castafieda regrets that he has " forgotten 
the names of many good fellows. It would be well if I 
could name some of them, so that it might be clearly seen 
what cause I had for saying that they had on this expedition 
the most brilliant company ever collected in the Indies to 
go in search of new lands. But they were unfortunate 
in having a captain who left in New Spain estates and a 
pretty wife, a noble and excellent lady, which were not the 
least causes for what was to happen." 

First Disappointment. Poor Coronado! The reader is 
thus prepared to throw upon him the blame because similar 
treasures to those found by Cortes in the land of Mon- 
tezuma were not found in Arizona and New Mexico. In 
spite of his having so many fine gentlemen in his official 
family, Coronado's disappointments and disillusionments 
began early. As he reached the region where the wilder- 
ness began — just past the Pima country — he felt down- 
hearted, " for, although the reports were very fine about 
what was ahead, there was nobody who had seen it except 
the Indians who went with the negro, and these had 
already been caught in some lies." 

Meeting with Indians. When the expedition first came in 
contact with the Indians of the desert region, the gallant 
members of the party must have been a little scared, for, 
according to Castafieda: "Some Indians . . . during the 



194 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

night ... in a safe place yelled so that, although the men 
were ready for anything, some were so excited that they 
put their saddles on hind-side before; but these were the 
new fellows. When the veterans had mounted and ridden 
round the camp, the Indians had fled." 

Coronado Reaches Zuni. Coronado finally reached 
Cibola — the mythical — now known to be Zuni, in New 
Mexico. Here he was not only disappointed because he 
did not find the great treasure so long anticipated, but 
he was wounded. Getting into converse with him, the 
Indians told him of the people who lived round about, 
and among others, of those who dwelt in the province of 
Tusayan. And here is what Castaiieda tells us about the 
discovery by Europeans of those whom we now know as 
the Hopi. 

Castaneda's Account of their Experiences in the Canyon. 
" The General had sent Don Pedro de Tovar to these 
villages with seventeen horsemen, and three or four foot 
soldiers. Juan de Padilla, a Franciscan friar, who had been 
a fighting man in his youth, went with them. When they 
reached the region, they entered the country so quietly 
that nobody observed them, because there were no settle- 
ments or farms between one village and another and the 
people do not leave the villages except to go to their farms, 
especially at this time, when they had heard that Cibola 
had been captured by very fierce people, who traveled on 
animals who ate people. This information was generally 
believed by those who had never seen horses, although 
it was so strange as to cause much wonder. Our men 
arrived after nightfall and were able to conceal themselves 
under the edge of the village, where they heard the natives 
talking in their houses. But in the morning they were 
discovered, and drew up in regular order, while the natives 
went out to meet them, with bows and shields, and wooden 
clubs, drawn up in lines without any confusion. The inter- 
preter was given a chance to speak to them and to give them 
one warning, for they were very intelligent people, but never- 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 195 

theless they drew lines and insisted that our men should not 
go across these lines toward their village. While they were 
talking some men acted as if they would cross the lines, 
and one of the natives lost control of himself and struck a 
horse a blow on the check of the bridle with his club. 
Friar Juan, fretted by the time that was being wasted in 
talking with them, said to the captain, ' To tell the truth, 
I do not know why we came here.' When the men heard 
this, they gave the Santiago (The Battle Cry of Spain), so 
suddenly that they ran down many Indians and the others 
fled to the town in confusion. Some indeed did not have a 
chance to do this, so quickly did the people in the villages 
come out with presents, asking for peace. The captain 
ordered his force to collect, and, as the natives did not do 
any more harm, he and those who were with him found a 
place to establish new headquarters near the village. They 
had dismounted here when the natives came peacefully, 
saying that they had come to give in the submission of the 
whole province and that they wanted him to be friends with 
them and to accept the presents which they gave him. This 
was some cotton cloth, although not much, because they do 
not make it in that district. They also gave him some 
dressed skins and some corn meal, and pine nuts, and corn 
and birds of the country. Afterward they presented some 
turquoises, but not many. The people of the whole dis- 
trict came together that day and submitted themselves, and 
they allowed him to enter their villages freely to visit, buy, 
sell, and barter with them. 

" It is governed like Cibola, by an assembly of the oldest 
men. They have their governors and generals. This was 
where they obtained the information about a large river, 
and that several days down the river there were some people 
with very large bodies. 

" As Don Pedro de Tovar was not commissioned to go 
farther, he returned from there, and gave this information 
to the general, who dispatched Don Garcia Lopez de Car- 
denas with about twelve companions to go to see this river. 



196 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

He was well received when he reached Tusayan and was well 
entertained by the natives, who gave him guides tor his 
journey. They started from here loaded with provisions, 
for they had to go through a desert country before reaching 
the inhabited region, which the Indians said was more 
than twenty days' journey. After they had gone twenty 
days, they came to the banks of the river, which seemed to 
be more than three or four leagues above the stream which 
flowed between them. This country was elevated and full 
of low, twisted pines, very cold, and lying open toward the 
north, so that, this being the warm season, no one could 
live there on account of the cold. They spent three 
days on this bank looking for a passage down to the 
river, which looked from above as if the water was six 
feet across, although the Indians said that it was half a 
league wide. It was impossible to descend, for after these 
three days Captain Melgosa and one Juan Galeras and 
another companion, who were the three lightest and most 
agile men, made an attempt to go down at the least difficult 
place, and went down until those who were above were 
unable to keep sight of them. They returned about four 
o'clock in the afternoon, not having succeeded in reaching 
the bottom on account of the great difficulties which they 
found, because what seemed to be easy from above was not 
so, but instead very hard and difficult. They said that they 
had been down about a third of the way and that the river 
seemed very large from the place that they reached, and 
that from what they saw the Indians had given the width 
correctly. Those who stayed above had estimated that 
some huge rocks on the side of the cliffs seemed to be about 
as tall as a man, but those who went down swore that when 
they reached these rocks they were bigger than the great 
tower of Seville. They did not go farther up the river be- 
cause they could not get water. Before this they had to go 
a league or two inland every day late in the evening in order 
to find water, and the guides said that if they should go four 
days farther, it would not be possible to go on, because there 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 197 

was no water within three or four days, for when they travel 
across this region themselves they take with them women 
loaded with water in gourds, and bury the gourds of water 
along the way to use when they return, and besides this, they 
travel in one day what it takes us two days to accomplish. 

" This was the Tison (Firebrand) river, much nearer 
its source than where Melchior Diaz and his company 
crossed it. These were the same kind of Indians, judging 
from what was afterward learned. They came back from 
this point and the expedition did not have any other result. 
On the way they saw some water falling on a rock and 
learned from the guides that some bunches of crystals 
which were hanging there were salt. They went and 
gathered a quantity of this and brought it back to Cibola, 
dividing it among those who were there. They gave the 
general a written account of what they had seen, because 
one Pedro de Sotomayor had gone with Don Garcia Lopez 
as chronicler for the army. The villages of that province 
remained peaceful, since they were never visited again, 
nor was any attempt made to find other peoples in that 
direction." 

Place Described by Cardenas Unknown. There has been 
some attempt on the part of students who are familiar 
with the country to locate the spot where Cardenas and his 
men gazed down into the depths of the Canyon of the 
Colorado River. The long distance travelled, according 
to Castaiieda's narrative, was totally unnecessary to bring 
the Spaniards to the banks of the river. Twenty days' 
journey, through a desert region, away from Tusayan in 
the direction of the Colorado River, would have brought 
them as far down as Yuma or Mohave. But at these points 
there is no canyon. It is well known that the Canyon 
system terminates near the Great Bend, some miles beyond 
the Grand Wash, hence this could not have been the ob- 
jective point of the guides of Cardenas. 

Dellenbaugh's Opinion. Dellenbaugh, in his " Romance of 
the Colorado River," argues that the Tusayan of Castaneda 



198 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

could not have been the land of the Hopis, for, as he truth- 
fully remarks, " an able-bodied man can easily walk to 
the brink of the Marble Canyon from there in three or 
four days." He also says that it has usually been stated, 
without definite reason, that Cardenas reached the Grand 
Canyon about opposite Bright Angel River, or near the 
spot where El Tovar Hotel now stands. I have never heard 
this statement made by any one who has any knowledge 
either of Castaiieda's narrative, or of the relative locations 
of the Hopi towns and the Grand Canyon. 

Evidently a Hopi Stratagem. The Hopis of to-day, with 
whom I have talked, insist upon it that Cardenas was 
taken to the barren and desolate point near the junction 
of Marble Canyon, the Little Colorado Canyon and the 
Grand Canyon. Here, the river may be said to come from 
the northeast and turn toward the south-southwest, and 
the conditions are not at all like those described by the 
historian. But if one accepts this modern statement of the 
Hopis, he is met with the questions: Why make Cardenas 
travel fifty leagues to see an inaccessible river that could 
be reached in three or four days ? Did Cardenas really 
travel fifty leagues ? I do not know, but I hazard the con- 
jecture that the Hopis gave Cardenas as much wandering 
about as they could, took him to this terribly bleak and 
barren spot where even to-day one can scarcely prevail 
upon a Hopi or Navaho to guide him, in order that he might 
be discouraged from making further explorations in the 
neighborhood. The Hopis had no use for explorers or 
strangers. They had suffered too much from foes, for 
too many decades, to welcome any one who seemed eager 
to possess anything of theirs, and, in my judgment, their 
treatment of Cardenas was a deliberate ruse to get rid of 
him. They had a trail over which they habitually traveled, 
that brought them to Hue-tha-wa-li, the White Rock 
Mountain, — opposite Bass Camp, — and on to the Hava- 
supai villages. Several times a year they went to and fro 
over this trail. It crosses the Little Colorado where it 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 199 

would have been easy to show the Spaniards the Salt Spring, 
to which Castarieda later refers. There is another point 
on the river, some miles beyond Bass Camp, where the 
Hopis used to visit the Havasupais, and that is just beyond 
the Great Curve, where the river may be said to flow from 
the northeast to the south-southwest. But both at Bass 
Camp and at this point, the Havasupais had made trails 
down to the river, of the existence of which the Hopis may, 
or may not, have known. So I freely confess that, as yet, 
I have not settled in my own mind at what point Cardenas 
and the Spaniards gazed into the depths of the Great 
Canyon. 

Alarcon's Discovery of Colorado River. While the main 
portion of Coronado's army had been advancing east- 
ward, a sea force sent out to co-operate with Coronado, 
under Alar^on, had sailed up the Gulf of California, and 
had entered the Colorado River, thus solving the problem of 
its exit into the Gulf. To Alar^on belongs the discovery 
of the Colorado River, which he named the Buena Guia. 
He went up the river twice in boats, the second time as- 
cending possibly as high as a hundred miles above the 
mouth of the Gila. Finally he entered " between certain 
very high mountains, through which this river passeth with 
a straight channel, and the boats went up against the stream 
very hardly for want of men to draw the same." He claims 
to have passed above this place — undoubtedly one of 
the lesser canyons of the Colorado found below the Needles, 
where the Santa Fe Railway crosses the river — and here 
magicians tried to destroy him and his party by setting 
magic reeds in the water on both sides. Of course this 
failed, but Alar^on decided to go no further. Here he 
erected a very high cross, on which was carved a statement 
to the effect that he had reached this spot, so that if Coro- 
nado's men should find it, they would know he had ascended 
the river thus far. 

Town of San Hieronimo is Established. In the mean- 
time, a small force of seventy or eighty of the weakest and 



200 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

least reliable of the men of Coronado's army was left in 
September, 1540, at a town which Cabeza de Vaca had 
named Corazones, or hearts, because the people there fed 
him on the hearts of animals. Coronado's plan was to 
establish a town here, which he or his lieutenant in charge 
of this portion of the army called San Hieronimo de los 
Corazones. These men and the care of the new settlement 
were left to Melchior Diaz, with orders to protect the road 
between Cibola and New Spain, and also to attempt to find 
some means of communicating with the vessels under 
Alar^on. Diaz, with twenty-five selected men, started 
for the seacoast, went to the Gulf, across to the coast, back 
again up the river, where he found Alar^on's cross, and 
eventually returned to San Hieronimo, there to meet with 
death by an accident. Owing to the habit of the Indians at 
the lower portion of the river of warming themselves in cold 
weather with a burning stick, Diaz called the river El Rio 
del Tizon — the River of the Firebrand. 

Disaster Comes to the Spaniards. Disappointed at what 
he had found at Cibola and Tiguex, Coronado now decided 
to go with his whole army to a place which had been de- 
scribed to him in most glowing terms by an Indian. He 
told of a place of fabulous wealth named Quivera, and, 
says the ancient historian: " He gave such a clear account 
of what he told, as if it was true and he had seen it, that it 
seemed plain afterward that the devil was speaking in him." 
Carried away by these glowing visions of wealth, Coronado 
sent Tovar back to San Hieronimo. Melchior Diaz was 
dead, and the little settlement was in an excitement, because 
one of the soldiers had just been killed by a poisoned arrow, 
shot by one of the natives. In trying to punish this offence, 
owing to the folly of the officer sent by Tovar in charge of 
the primitive force, seventeen more soldiers were killed by 
poisoned arrows, so that the ensign hastily abandoned 
the place, and moved with his sadly reduced force forty 
leagues toward Cibola, into a valley called Suya. From 
this point, he ultimately collected the best of his men, and 



THE MODERN DISCOVERY 201 

marched on to Tiguex, to find Coronado already gone on 
his heart-breaking expedition to Quivera. 

Coronado Returns to New Spain. After long and fruitless 
search, Coronado returned to New Spain, a disappointed 
man, disgraced and discarded. Tovar returned with him, 
but doubtless later found congenial work in other fields. 



CHAPTER XXV 

FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES, AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH 
THE GRAND CANYON 

Hotel and Stations Named for Spanish Priests. At Will- 
iams, the gateway to the Canyon, the Santa Fe Railway 
Company recently has erected a typical Mission style 
hotel, to which the name of Fray Marcos has been given. 
Here Canyon visitors who stop off between trains find 
excellent accommodations. At Needles, California, on the 
Colorado River, is another reinforced concrete building, 
named after another Franciscan priest, Francisco Garces. 
Both Fray Marcos and El Garces are managed by 
Fred Harvey, who also has charge of El Tovar Hotel. 
The history of this part of the Southwest for the last 
thirty years cannot be written without mention of this 
masterful man, who made railway meal service a fine 
art. In accordance with a policy established some time 
ago by the Santa Fe Company, the architecture of their 
station hotels conforms to the Spanish Mission styles, 
as far as possible, and they are given names of those who 
are inseparably connected with the romantic history cf this 
region. 

Fray Marcos Comes to America. In the chapter " Tovar 
and the Discovery of the Grand Canyon," brief reference is 
made to the reconnaissance undertaken by Fray Marcos 
de Niza, a Franciscan friar, to determine the truth of the 
reports brought into Culiacan by Cabeza de Vaca. This 
narrative of Fray Marcos is taken, in the main, from George 
Parker Winship's introduction to his translation of Cas- 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 203 

tafieda's narrative, published in the fourteenth annual 
report of the United States Bureau of Ethnology. This 
friar was born in Nice, then a part of Savoy, and he came 
to America about the year 153 1. His contemporaries called 
him a Frenchman, though there is no evidence that he was 
of French parentage. He was sent as one of the religious 
to accompany Pizarro on his expedition to Peru, and was 
present at the trial and execution of the native king, 
Atahualpa. From Peru, he returned to Central America, 
and thence he returned on foot to Mexico. He was a man 
of known bravery and character, and already was appointed 
to the office of vice-commissary of his order. Thus Mendoza 
felt no hesitation at charging him with the arduous mission 
of penetrating to the heart of what are now Arizona and 
New Mexico, as far as the reported seven cities of Cibola, 
and bringing back to his superiors a truthful account of 
what he saw. The father provincial of the order. Fray 
Antonio de Ciudad-Rodrigo, on August 26, 1539, certified 
to the high esteem in which Fray Marcos was held, and 
stated that he was skilled in cosmography, and in the arts 
of the sea, as well as in theology. 

Mendoza Instructs Fray Marcos. Mendoza drew up 
for him a set of instructions as to how he should proceed. 
These were very explicit as to the good treatment the 
Indians were to receive at his hands, and required him to 
make certain scientific observations with due care and 
thoroughness. He was to leave letters at stated intervals, 
and also send back to the viceroy reports of his progress, 
wherever possible. Coronado escorted him as far as the new 
town of Culiacan, and on March 7, 1539, accompanied by 
a lay brother, Onorato, he started on his trip. 

Courage of Spaniards. When it is remembered that this 
journey of several hundreds of miles was on foot, — for 
the rule of the Franciscans was that all their members should 
travel afoot save in cases of extreme necessity, — through 
a barren, almost waterless desert, roamed over by warlike 
Indians, the courage of the man is apparent. Yet he was 



204 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

not remarkable in this. The history of Mexico and of all 
the Spanish colonies, as well as those of New Mexico (which 
used to include Arizona), Texas, and California, abounds 
in the names of men of equal courage and daring. On 
reaching Petatlan, Brother Onorato fell sick, and Marcos 
had to leave him behind; thence alone, as far as white men 
were concerned, he traveled to Cibola. Six Indian inter- 
preters and a large number of natives accompanied and 
followed him, and Stephen, the negro, went ahead as his 
guide. 

Investigates Regarding Pearl Islands. He reached Va- 
capa (now known as Matapa), in Central Sonora, two days 
before Passion Sunday, which in 1539 fell on March 23. 
From this point he sent to the seacoast for some Indians, 
in order that he might learn from them something about 
the pearl islands, of which rumors had come to Cabeza 
de Vaca. He remained here until April 6. 

Stephen, the Guide, Is Sent Ahead. In the meantime, 
Stephen had pushed on to the north, leaving on Passion 
Sunday, with orders from Fray Marcos not to go further 
than fifty or sixty leagues ahead. If he found any signs 
of a rich and populous country before he had gone that 
distance, he was not to proceed further, but was to return 
for Marcos, or remain, and send messengers for him, 
bearing a white cross the size of the palm of his hand If 
the news was very promising, the cross was to be twice the 
size, and if the country about which he heard promised 
to be larger and better than New Spain (as Mexico was 
then generally known), a cross still larger than this was to 
be sent back. Castaneda says that Stephen was sent on 
ahead because he and Marcos did not agree well, the negro 
not only showing covetousness and the determination to 
acquire the turquoises of the natives, but also an amor- 
ousness that demanded of them their youngest and prettiest 
women. 

Messengers Bring Good News to Marcos. Four days after 
his departure, messengers sent by Stephen reached Fray 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 205 

Marcos with a very large cross as tall as a man. This, 
according to the signs established between them, meant 
wonderful news. One of the messengers told what it was. 
He it was, indeed, who had given the news to the negro, 
and he, in turn, had sent the native on to Fray Marcos. 
This is what Marcos records of the Indian's story: 

Report of Turquoise Stones. " There are seven very 
large cities in the first province, all under one lord, with 
large houses of stone and lime; the smallest one story 
high, with a flat roof above, and others two and three 
stories high, and the house of the lord four stories high. 
They are all united under his rule. And on the portals of 
the principal houses there are many designs of turquoise 
stones, of which he says they have a great abundance and 
the people in these cities are very well clothed. ... Con- 
cerning other provinces farther on, he said that each one of 
them amounted to much more than these seven cities." 

Marcos got a very clear idea of what actually existed, 
though he misunderstood the democratic community rule of 
the people of Cibola, under a chief whom they had elected to 
the office, for the rule of an overlord. The houses were 
built about as he describes, and whitewashed inside and 
out with gypsum, and though the placing of turquoises 
in the door jambs is discontinued, the traditions of the 
people clearly indicate that at one time that was their 
general practice. 

Messenger from the Coast Returns. Had he been a man 
of great impatience, Marcos would have started off at 
once to discover the truth or falsity of these reports, but he 
waited until his messenger who had been sent to the coast 
returned, with natives of that region. These told him of 
pearls found in quantity near their homes. Other Indians, 
with painted or tattooed faces, chests and arms, living to 
the east (doubtless the Pimas or Sobaipuris), also visited 
him, and told him of the seven villages with which they 
claimed to be familiar. 

Marcos Follows Stephen. The friar was now ready to 



206 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

start, and on the second day following Easter (April 6), 
he left, expecting to find Stephen waiting for him at the 
village from which his messenger had been sent. Instead, 
he met a second cross, much larger than the first one, with 
messengers who gave a fuller and completer account of 
the seven villages, but agreeing in every particular with 
what had been told before. All this was confirmed when 
Friar Marcos reached the first village, so he hastened on, 
doubtless annoyed somewhat that Stephen had disobeyed 
his orders, and journeyed beyond the prescribed distance. 
But it was perhaps well for him that Stephen had done so. 
Gathering turquoises and women as he proceeded, and 
followed by an increasing number of natives, the negro 
pushed on to Cibola. Before arriving at the principal 
town, he sent forward a notice of his approach in the 
shape of a gourd, to which were attached a few strings 
of rattles and two plumes, one white and the other red. 
This was unfortunate for Stephen, for undoubtedly it 
was part of the paraphernalia of a medicine man of a tribe 
hostile to the Cibolans. Its receipt made the people both 
angry and suspicious. The chief who received the gourd 
threw it upon the ground, and told the messengers that 
" when their people reached the village, they would find 
out what sort of men lived there, and that instead of enter- 
ing the place, they would all be killed." Stephen paid no 
attention to this warning, but recklessly entered the village. 
He was duly received by the chief, but instead of his being 
acclaimed, and a generous welcome accorded him, he was 
coldly requested to remain without the walls, and occupy 
a house that was pointed out to him. This for years has 
been the habit of the Zuni people of our time, in dealing 
with strange Mexicans who come to visit them, owing to 
their religious ceremonies. 

Stephen Is Killed. Poor Stephen's confidence doubtless 
began to leave him the following day, when his turquoises 
and women were taken from him, and he found himself 
a prisoner without food or drink. As much afraid now 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 207 

as he had been over-confident before, he endeavored, during 
the early morning hours, to escape, but was overtaken and 
killed, together with some of his followers. The others, 
to the number of sixty, returned to Fray Marcos with the 
appalhng news. 

Indian Followers Wish to Desert. But, undaunted and 
unafraid, the brave friar kept on his way. He was sent 
to see the villages of Cibola, and make a report on them. 
He had injured no one, and intended to injure no one. 
While he must be circumspect and not risk his life unneces- 
sarily, he must perform his duty, even though by so doing 
he put his life in jeopardy. Another difficulty confronted 
him. The first reports of Stephen's death were accom- 
panied with the statement that all of his native followers 
were also slain. As soon as the Indians who were with 
Fray Marcos heard this, they wished to desert and return 
home at once; but he opened up some bundles of presents 
he had with him, and by a free distribution of them prevailed 
upon his escort to remain. Then he went apart to pray, 
and while he was gone the ingrate Indians decided to kill 
him as the source of all their troubles. It took a good deal 
of argument, more presents, and some threats, to persuade 
them that to kill him would be the height of folly. Before 
they had time to hatch up any more plots, he succeeded in 
getting two of the chief men to go with him to a hilly place 
overlooking the city of Cibola, which he describes as a city 
on a plain, on the slope of a round height. In his report 
he writes: 

Marcos' Description of Cibola. " It has a very fine ap- 
pearance for a village, the best that I have seen in these 
parts. The houses, as the Indians had told me, are all of 
stone, built in stories, and with flat roofs. Judging by 
what I could see from the height where I placed myself 
to observe it, the settlement is larger than the City of Mexico. 
... It appears to me that this land is the best and largest 
of all those that have been discovered." 

Marcos Returns with His Report. With " far more 



208 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

fright than food," says the candid friar, he hastened back 
to New Spain, and made his report to Coronado in person 
at Compostela. Later he wrote it officially to the viceroy, 
also to the head of his order, and on September 2, in the 
presence of both Mendoza and Coronado, swore to the 
truth of what he had written. 

High Office Is Given Him. I have already (in another 
chapter) told of the effect of Fray Marcos's report. It 
made a most popular man of him, and soon thereafter, 
when the position of father provincial of his order was 
vacant, he was chosen to fill the office, — the highest 
in the district. Henceforth he was called to fill all the 
pulpits of the region. He became known as a great preacher, 
and doubtless interlarded his sermons with many refer- 
ences to his wonderful adventures in search of the famous 
" seven cities." The result was the whole country became 
excited, and many went on the expedition, the failure of 
which we are familiar with. 

Cortez Discredits Marcos. In the meantime, Cortez 
was not quiet. It must not be forgotten that he claimed all 
this northern country by right of discovery, and he pro- 
tested most vigorously against the sending forth of Coro- 
nado's expedition. Just as Coronado was about to start, 
Cortez returned to Spain, and there presented a memorial 
to the king (June 25, 1540), setting forth in detail the ill- 
treatment which he had received from Mendoza. In this, 
according to Winship, " he declared that after the viceroy 
had ordered him to withdraw his men from their station 
on the coast of the mainland toward the north, where they 
were engaged in making ready for extended inland explora- 
tions, he had a talk with Fray Marcos. ' And I gave him,' 
says Cortez, ' an account of this said country, and of its 
discovery, because I had determined to send him in my 
ships to follow up the said northern coast and conquer 
that country, because he seemed to understand something 
about matters of navigation. The said friar communicated 
this to the said viceroy, and he says that, with his permission, 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 209 

he went by land in search of the same coast and country 
as that which I had discovered, and which it was and is 
my right to conquer. And since his return, the said friar 
has pubHshed the statement that he came within sight of 
the said country, which I deny that he has either seen or 
discovered; but instead, in all that the said friar reports that 
he has seen, he only repeats the account I had given him 
regarding the information which I obtained from the Indians 
of the said country of Santa Cruz, because anything which 
the said friar says that he discovers is just the same as what 
these said Indians had told me; and in enlarging upon this 
and in pretending to report what he neither saw nor learned, 
the said Friar Marcos does nothing new, because he has 
done this many other times, and this was his regular habit, 
as is notorious in the provinces of Peru and Guatemala; 
and -sufficient evidence regarding this will be given to the 
court whenever it is necessary.' " 

Marcos an Exaggerator. Cortez never made any attempt 
to confirm his statements, and it is well known that he 
himself was very reckless in his handling of the truth 
where his own purposes were to be served, or the plans 
of his enemies defeated. It seems a pretty clear matter 
that, while the friar told the truth as nearly as possible 
as to what he actually saw, he did not hesitate to let the 
more exaggerated statements of the things he had merely 
heard have as full weight as the people to whom he told 
them desired. Anyhow, he has suffered a great deal of 
abuse as an exaggerator, and even worse, though it must 
never be forgotten that people who fail are always read)^ 
to blame every one concerned except themselves. Bande- 
lier warmly defends Fray Marcos, and his knowledge is 
confessedly great; but Winship thinks he treats the charge 
too lightly. 

Poor Fray Marcos, afflicted with rheumatism, had a 
painful time during the remainder of his life, and finally 
died March 25, 1558, in the house of his order, in the City 
of Mexico. 



210 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Religious Zeal of Garces. It is appropriate also that 
Fray Francisco Garces should find an honored place in 
these necessarily brief historical notices. Fired with a 
wonderful zeal for souls, without the urging or backing 
of any superior save the Spirit of God, which spoke to his 
own soul, he marched from San Xavier del Bac, his station 
in Northern Mexico (now Arizona), across these inhos- 
pitable wilds, merely seeking opportunities for the estab- 
lishment of mission settlements, where the natives could 
learn of the way of Christ, salvation from sin, and heaven. 
Five times he left his mission and made entradas (as they 
are called) into the interior country, anxious to expand his 
work and his influence. On the third of these, he followed 
the course of the Gila down to the Colorado River, and 
descended along its banks, possibly as far as its mouth. 
His fourth journey was with the intrepid Captain Juan 
Bautista de Anza, when he set forth in 1774 to discover a 
road from the missions already established in Northern 
Mexico, over the then unknown Arizona and Colorado 
deserts, to the new missions of California. The road was 
discovered and, in spite of its hardships, deemed feasible, 
for in 1775-1776 De Anza went over it again, accom- 
panied by the band he had gathered together for the es- 
tablishment of a Spanish colony at San Francisco. His chap- 
lain on this occasion was Padre Pedro Font. Fray Garces, 
a fellow Franciscan, also went along as far as the Colorado 
River. Here he left the party, journeyed down the Colorado 
to the Gulf, returned to the Mohaves, then crossed the 
Colorado Desert to San Gabriel Mission in California, 
back again to the Mohaves, and finally across the Arizona 
desert to the province of Tusayan, the land of the Hopis. 

Havasupais Guide Garces to the Hopi Towns. It was 
on June 4, 1776 — memorable year in American annals 
— that Garces started under the guidance of some Walla- 
pais for the Hopi towns. They had given him fair details 
of the country he would have to travel over. Passing 
by their own home in Diamond Creek (one of the earliest 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 211 

approaches to the Grand Canyon), he decided to visit the 
Havasupais, whom he calls Jabesuas. Those famihar 
with Spanish spelling and pronunciation will readily rec- 
ognize that they are almost one and the same. The Walla- 
pais took the priest down their own trail into Havasu or 
Cataract Canyon, — a trail which made his head swim, 
and where his mule had to be left behind, to be brought 
to him later by another route. He also describes the ladder 
down which he climbed just before reaching the place 
where the innumerable springs flow out of the solid rock 
and form Havasu Creek. It was the same ladder descended 
eighty years later by Egloffstein, Lieutenant Ives's artist, 
who was so heavy that he took down ladder and all with 
him. Here Garces stayed five days, being hospitably 
treated by the natives, who brought him melons, squash, 
corn, beans, etc., and who had thriving trees of peaches 
and apricots. 

The Grand Canyon Is Reached. Leaving the kind- 
hearted Havasupais, he returned to the plateau above, 
and soon saw for the first time the deep gorge of the Colo- 
rado River itself, — the Grand Canyon. He describes 
with surprising accuracy of detail the break in the Kaibabs, 
where the Marble and Little Colorado Canyons unite and 
form the Grand Canyon, and then, a little later, he gives a 
true description of the Little Colorado Canyon. From 
his account, he doubtless went down by the old Hopi 
Salt Trail into the gorge of the Little Colorado, and thus 
on to Oraibi, which he reached July 2, 1776. 

Wishes to Baptize the Indians. About this time those 
interesting, exciting and most important of all discussions 
were raging in the Continental Congress on the eastern 
side of the continent, which, two days later, were to result 
in the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jeffer- 
son had undoubtedly written it at this time, but Garces 
knew not the name of the great patriot and his compeers. 
He was bent on a diff'erent mission. He wished to declare 
to the Hopis how they might have freedom, — freedom 



212 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

from sin and the fear of hell. For, as Elliott Coues (the 
scholarly translator of Garces's diary, published a few years 
ago by F. P. Harper of New York) expresses it: " It 
made him sick at heart to see so many natives going to hell 
for lack of the three drops of water he would sprinkle over 
them if only they would let him do it." 

Garces Reaches Oraibi. His arrival at Oraibi caused 
great excitement, though a priest had been at work there 
as early as 1650. There were four priests laboring among 
the Hopis in 1680, when the great native uprising through- 
out New Mexico and Arizona occurred, and all of them, with 
many others (laymen and soldiers as well) were slain at that 
time. Then, too, the remembrance had not died away 
of the total destruction of the town of Awatobi (one of the 
Hopi towns of that day) in the year 1700, because the people 
of that place were hospitable and tolerant of the " long 
gowns." The medicine men and leaders of all the adjacent 
towns gathered together, and led a force which fell upon 
Awatobi in the dead of the night. Every male in it was 
slain, and only some of the women and girls were saved 
and taken to the other towns. The place was fired, and 
remained a neglected ruin, until the scholarship and labors 
of recent ethnologists dug up both the town and its tragic 
history. 

Indians Are Hostile. Poor Garces! The hostility of the 
Oraibis was apparent. They refused to allow him to enter 
a house, and he was compelled to camp outside, in a corner 
formed by a jutting wall, while his guide sheltered his 
mule in a sheep corral. He built his little camp fire, cooked 
his frugal meal, and slept there during the night, doubtless 
committing himself and the people who refused to receive 
him to the protecting mercies of God. The next day the 
chiefs of the town came to him, clothed in their ceremonial 
costumes and feathery head-dresses, and bade him leave 
the place. He held up his crucifix as an index of his mission, 
and endeavored to tell them that he came solely to do them 
good. But they would have none of him, and on the fol- 



FRAY MARCOS AND GARCES 213 

lowing day, the memorable Fourth of July, they expelled 
him peaceably but forcibly from their town. He returned 
to the Colorado River again on July 25, and soon to San 
Xavier, his mission, a failure. 

Establishes Missions among the Yiunas. Now he threw 
his whole heart into the two missions which the authorities 
had decided to place among the Yumas. Captain Palma, 
a Yuma chief, who had been very friendly, had urged it 
repeatedly, and now the desires of both were to be fulfilled. 
In 1779, Garces went to prepare the way, and the following 
year the establishment took place. The missions were 
eight miles apart; one was named La Purisima Concep- 
cion; the other, San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner. Garces 
and Barraneche took charge of the upper mission, and 
Diaz and Moreno of the lower. 

Garces Is Killed. The missions were a failure from the 
start. The few Spanish soldiers sent to guard the padres 
were obliged to utilize some of the best lands which were 
tilled for their own benefit. The appropriations from 
the treasury were too small to permit of anything but 
the rudest and simplest of structures, and Palma and his 
friends soon became disgusted with the whole affair. On 
July 17 the Indians, many of whom had been hostile 
from the first, arose and massacred both colonies of white 
men, as well as a small force of soldiers under former 
Governor Rivera, of California, who was encamped tem- 
porarily on the western side of the river. At first, Garces' 
life was spared, but before the day was over he and his 
co-laborer were beaten to death, and his unselfish mission 
on earth ended. In my book In and Out of the Old Missions 
of California, I give this interesting and tragic history in 
fuller detail. This, then, is the man whose name is given 
to the railway building at Needles, in order that his heroic 
labors for the Indians of the Colorado River region may not 
be forgotten. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
Powell's and other explorations of the grand 

CANYON 

In the chapters on Tovar and Cardenas, Fray Marcos 
and Garces, I have given some idea of the history of the 
Spanish explorations of the Grand Canyon region. In 
this chapter is presented an account of the brave work done 
by later explorers, until now the Grand Canyon and the 
whole canyon system of the Colorado River is as well 
known as the course of many a less dangerous stream. 

Early American Trappers. Who can know whether any 
of those daring souls, the trappers of the earliest days of 
American history, ever penetrated to the depths of these 
canyons in their expeditions after the pelts of fur-bearing 
animals .? These men were the true pioneers. They ever 
kept thrusting the frontier line further forward. As civili- 
zation, with people, villages, towns, cultivated lands, ad- 
vanced westward, still further west pushed the trapper. 
Civilization was a hindrance to his business. The wild 
animals he sought fled from the presence of many men. 
Though the Indian had penetrated more or less to all these 
secluded regions, the Indian has enough of the reserve of 
outdoor life not to disturb any of the animals. It is the 
imperious, self-willed, noisy white man who drives away 
the shy creatures of the wild. 

United States Purchases New Territory. In 1815, the 
small nation known as the United States had become eager 
to grow, and Jefferson had made his memorable purchase 
of all the territory north of the Red River, the Arkansas and 



POWELL'S AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS 215 

the forty-second parallel, as far as the British boundary ^ 
or Canadian line, then still unsettled, and the disputed 
region of Oregon. Lewis and Clark had made their won- 
derful expedition, and the world, through the pubhcation 
of their report, knew a little of the immense territory now 
acquired. In the previous century, the Spaniards had 
discovered the value of the pelts of the fur-bearing animals 
of California, and a few venturesome spirits were soon to 
learn that the western mountains, forests and rivers 
abounded in the same profitable game. In his interesting 
and illuminative American Fur Trade of the Far West, 
Chittenden has shed a flood of light on these early-day 
operations. 

Trappers Seek Riches. Padilla, Kino, Garces, Esca- 
lante, and others of the brave Spanish padres, had pene- 
trated into some portion of these unknown territories, 
but they had gone with the vow of poverty upon them. 
No greed for gold blinded their eyes to the rights of others. 
A hunger for the salvation of souls was their only hunger; 
the glitter of the golden harps and crowns in heaven the 
only glitter that attracted them. But the trappers had a 
diff'erent purpose. They were a different kind of men. Rough 
and ready, venturesome to the last degree, turbulent as 
the raging Colorado, imperious in their high-handed dealing 
with all who stood in their way, they were about to enter 
the conflict for the sake of gold, and gold is the most re- 
morseless driver, the most soul-destroying master man ever 
has had. 

Trappers the Primary Cause of Indian Wars. It has 
been the trappers who largely have given to us our notions 
of the American Indians of the West. For they were the 
first men to come into conflict with them. They were 
the first to dispute with them about water-holes and springs, 
about " rights," about " property." Is it necessary to 
ask what kind of a report such men would bring of any 
who stood in their way ? Is it necessary to know much of 
human nature to know how these men treated the In- 



216 THE GRAND CAm^ON OF ARIZONA 

dians ? The trappers not only began the lucrative fur 
trade of the West, that laid the foundation for several 
vast American fortunes, but they also laid the foundation 
for a series of Indian wars that have cost the United States 
more lives and treasure than all the furs ever gathered on 
earth were worth. And not only did they take the furs 
from the animals they trapped. The agents of the Fur 
Companies (whether British or American) took them from 
the Indians. Read Jim Beckwourth's accounts of how he 
traded with the Indians, and listen to his own comments 
upon his actions. As Dellenbaugh vividly says: " Rough- 
shod the trapper broke the wilderness, fathomed its secret 
places, traversed its trails and passes, marking them with 
his own blood and more vividly with that of the natives." 

The Ashley Fur Camp Is Established. Early in the last 
century, the trappers were operating on the head waters 
of the Colorado River. Green River Valley was dis- 
covered, and in 1822 one of the most brilliant men of the 
West of that period, General William Henry Ashley (born 
in Virginia in 1778, went to Missouri in 1802, and in 1820 
was its first governor), went into the fur trade with Andrew 
Henry, an expert trapper. Two years later, with a band 
of such men as Henry, Ashley established a camp in 
Green River Valley, and, with his men, set out on expedi- 
tions for furs and pelts. 

Inscription at Red Canyon. When in June, 1869, Powell 
and his party were passing through the fourth canyon 
after leaving Green River, now known as Red Canyon, they 
saw an inscription on one of the huge rocks above the 
river, done in black letters, sheltered by a slight projection 
of the rock which acted as a cornice, reading: 

"Ashley 18... 5" 

The third figure was obscure and some of the party read 
in 1835, some 1855. 

Ashley Expedition Unsuccessful. It should have been 



POWELL'S AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS 217 

read 1825. Powell was not familiar with the history of 
the fur traders. Ashley was an unknown name to him, 
but as Chittenden has so vividly pointed out, he, in his way, 
left his impress upon our Western civilization as strongly 
as did Powell. Would that it had been as nobly, as grandly 
beneficent. Ashley fitted up a trapping expedition to go 
down Green River, in spite of its known dangers, and, ex- 
pecting to find beaver in plenty, took but little provisions 
along with them. At first they* did fairly well. Then, as 
the canyons narrowed, to their horror and distress, as well 
as surprise, — ^'for they had kept none of the meat of the 
beavers they had killed, — the animals ceased to appear, 
and starvation stared them in the face. For six days they 
were without food. The precipitous walls of the Canyon 
forbade escape, and at length they became so demoralized 
that Beckwourth declares they actually proposed to cast 
lots as to which should be killed to make food for the others. 
This fearful proposition so horrified Ashley that he begged 
them to hold out a while longer, and to their joy they soon 
emerged from the Canyon, possibly at a place known as 
Brown's Hole; where Provo, an experienced trapper, had 
his camp. From here they abandoned the Canyon ex- 
pedition, and doubtless returned with Provo to Salt Lake. 
Powell named the falls near where Ashley left his name 
Ashley Falls. 

There is every reason to assume that other trappers 
attempted the passage of the Canyon, for Powell found a 
bake oven, several tin plates, and part of a boot in Lodore 
Canyon, which he imagined were Ashley's; but, as we have 
seen, Ashley never went down so far. 

Other Unsuccessful Trappers. In his excellent Romance 
of the Colorado River, Dellenbaugh recites at length, 
from their own narratives largely, the adventures of several 
trappers and others, whose experiences are connected 
with the Colorado River, — the Patties, Jedediah Smith, 
Kit Carson, William Wolfskill, Farnham, Fremont, Lieuten- 
ant Derby, Captain Johnson, and others, who, however, 



218 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

never came actually into the Grand Canyon region. Hence 
I shall make no further reference to them here. My reason 
for giving so much space to Ashley has been merely to 
offer a sample of the kind of experiences the trappers of 
the early days met with, in trying to solve the problem of 
the canyons of the Colorado River. 

Lieutenant Ives's Expedition. Lieutenant Ives's expedi- 
tion, however, reached into the very heart of this country. 
Lie visited the Havasupais in their canyon, also the Walla- 
pais, and traversed the weary miles across the desert to 
the villages of the Hopi. Steamboats had plied up and 
down the Colorado River from the Gulf of California as 
far as Fort Yuma — near where the present railroad 
bridge crosses the stream — but Ives was instructed by 
the War Department to explore the river further up, in 
order to determine whether the military posts of New 
Mexico and Utah could be reached, and their supplies 
transported by the Colorado. Instead of calling upon 
Captain Johnson and chartering his steamboat, the Colo- 
rado, Ives ordered his steamer constructed in Philadelphia, 
and shipped in sections via the Isthmus of Panama to San 
Francisco, and thence around Cape Lucas into the Gulf 
of California, to the mouth of the Colorado River. Yet 
he was able to report, doubtless with a clear conscience, 
that Johnson's company " was unable to spare a boat, 
except for a compensation beyond the limits of the ap- 
propriation." 

Ives's Report and Accompanying Pictures. Ives's report is 
a most interesting document, and the pictures that accom- 
pany it, made by MoUhausen and Eggloffstein, especially 
those of the latter artist, are wonderful in their imaginative 
qualities. They are no more like the Grand Canyon than 
are the visions of Dore, yet they afford a good idea of the 
impression its vastness and sublimity made upon an ar- 
tistic mind. 

Starts up the River. Ives ascended the river, passing 
Johnson on the way in the Mohave Valley, a few miles 



POWELL'S AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS 219 

above the Needles. The latter had gone to ferry Lieuten- 
ant Beale and his outfit across the river. So in reality 
he was ahead of Ives, for he entered the Black Canyon to 
the highest point attainable by steamers before Ives did, 
and thus got the better of the man who had refused to hire 
him and his steamer. 

Journey Is Abandoned. But Ives went on as if Johnson 
had never existed, " discovered " what was already known, 
viz.: that the river " was flanked by walls many hundreds 
of feet in height, rising perpendicularly out of the water, 
the Colorado emerging from the bowels of the range," and 
then struck a sunken rock, and had to give up in disgust. 

Returns East across Country. Sending his vessel, the 
Explorer, back to Fort Yuma under the command of 
Robinson, its efficient captain, the gallant lieutenant now 
struck out across country, having received new supplies 
and his pack-train. Under the guidance of an intelligent 
Mohave Indian, Ireteba, they reached Diamond Creek, 
and there not only came in contact with the Wallapais, but 
for the first time saw the Big Canyon, as they called the 
Grand Canyon. He then pushed on east, entered Hava- 
supai (Cataract) Canyon, visited the Indians there, then 
made a wide detour to examine the San Francisco peaks, 
struck east again, crossed the Little Colorado, and reached 
the province of Tusayan, where dwell the Hopis. After 
a short visit .there, he crossed south and east to Fort De- 
fiance, and finally returned east with his report. When 
the Civil War broke out, Ives joined the Confederate forces 
and was killed in one of the battles. 

Ives's Prediction. As an evidence of the folly of making 
predictions in regard to what the future has in store for 
any region, let me quote one paragraph from Ives which 
always has amused me: 

" This region can be approached only from the south, and 
after entering it there is nothing to do but to leave. Ours 
has been the first, and will doubtless be the last party of 
whites, to visit this profitless locality." 



220 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Yet Ives enjoyed the Canyon, and wrote some truly elo- 
quent descriptions of it. How surprised he would be 
could he come back now, approach it from the north, 
cross the river in a steel cage, and find at El Tovar such 
an hotel as even the city of Washington never surpassed 
in Ives's day. Then, taking the Grand Canyon Railway, 
he could speed to Williams, . and in twenty-four hours 
reach the Pacific, or in four days the Atlantic. We march 
forward with great strides in these days. 

Powell's Preparations for His Life-Work. Even at the 
time of his writing (1858), John Wesley Powell was being 
prepared to bring Ives's words to naught. Born March 24, 
1834, at Mount Morris, Livingston County, New York, 
he found himself in 1858 at Wheaton, Illinois, engaged 
in making a conchological collection for the Illinois State 
Natural History Society. While engaged in this work, he 
also secured collections in botany, zoology, and mineralogy. 
His mind now opened to perceive that all these sciences 
were related to the greater science of geology, and thence- 
forward he declared that this should become his life-work. 

Experiences in Civil War. During the Civil War, he 
fought with bravery and honor, losing an arm at the battle 
of Shiloh, April 6, 1862. When Sherman began his march 
to the sea, Powell was given command of twenty batteries 
of artillery. He served on the staff of General Thomas 
at the battle of Nashville, and was musterejl out in the 
early summer of 1865. Even during these exciting years, 
his beloved science not only never lost its attraction for 
him, but he utilized every possible opportunity to add to 
his knowledge. He made a collection of fossils unearthed 
in the digging of the Vicksburg trenches, and from the 
Mississippi swamps gathered land and river shells. In 
Illinois, while on detached service, mosses engaged his 
attention, and he was indefatigable in studying the geology 
of the region through which his section of the army passed. 

Begins Geological Explorations in Colorado. After the 
war he declined a lucrative political office to take the chair 



POWELL'S AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS 221 

of geology in the struggling Wesleyan University, of Bloom- 
ington, Illinois. He had married his cousin, Emma Dean, 
in 1862, and, after a glimpse of the country in 1867, he 
took her and a party that he had organized, to make geo- 
logical explorations in Colorado. This was the beginning 
of his work that ultimately wrested the secrets from the 
mysterious canyons of the Colorado River. This pre- 
liminary work led him on, as it were, to the greater work, 
and in i86g, on May 24, with four boats, the Emma Dean, 
Kitty Clydis Sister, Maid of the Canyon, and No-Name, 
and nine companions, John C. Sumner, William H. Dunn, 
Walter H. Powell, G. Y. Bradley, O. G. Howland, Seneca 
Rowland, Frank Goodman, William R. Hawkins, and 
Andres Hall, he set forth from Green River City. The 
simple records of that trip, and a later one made in 1871- 
1873 (in which Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, the author of 
The Romance of the Colorado River, was engaged, read 
like a romance. A condensation of them is but an aggra- 
vation. No one interested in the Canyon should neglect to 
read them, and I am now arranging to republish Powell's 
original monograph, together with his monumental work 
on The Canyons of the Colorado, the plates of which I 
purchased at his death for this purpose. 

Powell's First Expedition. In the first expedition, the 
party was from May 24 to August 30 passing through the 
Canyon system, from Green River City to the mouth of 
the Rio Virgen. On the first of September, four of the men, 
with a small supply of provisions, resumed their journey 
on the river to Fort Mohave, while Powell and his brother 
returned to civilization by way of Salt Lake City. 

Second Expedition. Though chapter nine of Powell's 
report as published by the Government, speaks of the 
" continuation of the explorations " of the Canyon, and 
gives an account of the studies made in and around the 
region of the Virgen River, and chapter ten contains Pro- 
fessor A. H. Thompson's " Report on a Trip to the Mouth 
of the Dirty Devil River," there is nothing in the volume 



222 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

that suggests the magnitude of the second trip through the 
Canyon. This great omission Mr. Dellenbaugh suppHes 
in his complete narrative before referred to. 

Powell's Work on the Canyon Completed. This time 
three boats started, the Emma Dean, Nellie Powell, and 
Canyoncita, manned by S. V. Jones, J. K. Hilliers, F. S. 
Dellenbaugh, A. H. Thompson, J. F. Steward, F. M. 
Bishop, F. C. A. Richardson, E. O. Beaman, W. C. Powell, 
and A, J. Hattan, with Major J. W. Powell, of course, as 
leader and director. The start was made from Green 
River City, Wyoming, as before, and the date was May 22, 
1 87 1. On the third of September, the mouth of Kanab 
Canyon was reached, where, on account of high water, the 
trip for the time being was abandoned. The topographical 
work of the survey of the surrounding country was con- 
tinued through to the winter of 1873, when the maps were 
completed, and Powell's great work on the canyons and 
tributary country practically brought to a close. 

Wheeler's Expedition in 1871. Another interesting Colo- 
rado River expedition was that of Captain G. M. Wheeler, 
made in the fall of 1871. It was doubtless an offset to 
that of Major Powell, as in those early days there were 
three separate geographical surveys in the field, working 
independently and without common guidance. Hence it 
was natural that there should have been some degree of 
rivalry. Captain Wheeler started up the Colorado River 
from Camp Mohave, in three boats that had been specially 
made in San Francisco, and with a barge loaned by the 
commanding officer at the fort. Dr. G. K. Gilbert was the 
geologist of the party. From September 16 to October 20, 
they had a difficult, arduous and occasionally thrilling 
journey, reaching the mouth of Diamond Creek at the 
latter date. Diamond Creek is a point on the Canyon which 
used to be largely visited. It is reached from Peach Springs, 
but the scenery is far less impressive than at any of the 
more accessible points described in this book. 

Brown's Unsuccessful Expedition. Seventeen years 



POWELL'S AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS 223 

after Powell, Frank M. Brown, a Denver capitalist, de- 
termined to survey the canyons with the purpose of building 
a railway through them to the Gulf of California. The 
main start was made May 25, 1889, from the Rio Grande 
Western's tracks across the Green River, with six boats 
and sixteen men. It was a disastrous expedition. Brown 
himself lost his life at Soap Creek Rapids, some fifteen 
miles below Lee's Ferry, and four days later two others were 
drowned in Marble Canyon. The expedition was then 
abandoned, the remnant of the party climbing the Canyon 
walls, and finding their way back to civilization assisted 
by the kindly owner of a cattle ranch. 

Stanton's Boats Travel Through the Whole Canyon 
System. In November of the same year, however, Robert 
Brewster Stanton, Brown's engineer, observing precautions 
that Brown had so unfortunately neglected, prepared to 
continue the exploration. He had his boats hauled on 
wagons to the mouth of Crescent Creek near Fremont 
River, to avoid a repetition of the experiences in Cataract 
Canyon, and a good start was made. The party ate Christ- 
mas dinner at Lee's Ferry, and a few days later, slightly 
below where Brown lost his life, the photographer ot the 
expedition fell from a ledge and broke his leg. With in- 
credible labor, the unfortunate man was got out of the 
Canyon, four miles in distance and seventeen hundred 
feet in altitude, on an improvised stretcher, and then taken 
in a wagon which Stanton had fetched from Lee's Ferry. 
The party then went on, entered the Grand Canyon, and 
reached Diamond Creek March i, where they remained 
ten days recuperating. The last dash was then made in 
safety. The boats left the Canyon March 17, 1890, and pro- 
ceeded easily and gently, until on the twenty-sixth of 
April tide-water was reached at the mouth of the river on 
the Gulf of California. 

Galloway Repeats Stanton's Exploit. On January 12, 
1897, N. Galloway, a Mormon trapper, who for years had 
operated on the Canyons of the Green River, determined to 



224 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

emulate Powell and Stanton. He made two light boats of 
rude lumber, covered them fore and aft with canvas, got a 
companion, William Richmond, and on the day named left 
a point near the state line of Wyoming and Utah. On the 
third of February they emerged from the Canyon. As they 
reached the open country below the Grand Wash, they came 
upon the officers who had found the bodies of two men, 
killed by Mouse, a Paiuti Indian. The officers requested 
the use of Galloway's boats to convey the bodies to the 
Needles. This was acceded to, and on the seventeenth of 
February Needles was reached, the boats sold, and the 
Mormons returned to their homes. 

Making Photographs of Soap Creek Rapids. Later in 
the same year, I made the trip by wagon from Winslow, 
Arizona, over the Painted Desert to Lee's Ferry, and there, 
to my great delight, met Galloway. He built a boat, and 
took me up Glen Canyon for a long distance, and down 
Marble Canyon to Soap Creek Rapids, where poor Brown 
was lost. As I photographed the rapid, he offered to 
" run it " in his boat if I desired, saying that, with his 
light boat, there was no danger whatever. I declined, 
however, on the ground that no photograph ever made 
could justify the risking of a man's life. As recently as 
August, 1908, in coming to the Canyon by rail, I met 
at Kingman, Arizona, a deputy sheriff by name of Ayres, 
who was one of my party taken by Galloway up the Glen 
Canyon. 

In the Fall of 1909, Mr. Galloway accompanied an 
Eastern capitalist, Mr. Julius Stone, of Columbus, Ohio, 
in boats of their own manufacture, through the Canyons, 
from Green River to Needles, California. They had a de- 
lightful, though an arduous nine weeks' trip. Mr. Stone 
secured the finest set of photographs of the Canyons as a 
whole that ever have been mad'e. 

In another chapter, entitled " The Story of a Boat," 
the interesting account of the successful trip of Russell, 
Monett and Loper is given. 




LOOKING ACROSS COLORADO RIVER BETWEEN UPPER AND 

LOWER lee's ferry TO ENTRANCE OF PARIA CREEK. 

Page 32S, 




A QUIET REACH BETWEEN TWO RAPIDS, COLORADO RIVER. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

INDIAN LEGENDS ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON 

Legendary lore is generally interesting. It reveals 
the mental qualities of the people who make and believe 
it, and also shows how the child mind of the race acts. 
For the aboriginal makers of legends are the child minds 
of the race in active operation. There are many legends 
attaching to this great Canyon. One is told by Major 
Powell in his " Explorations " as follows: 

Legend of the River's Birth. " Long ago, there was a 
great and wise chief, who mourned the death of his wife 
and would not be comforted until Ta-vwoats, one of the 
Indian gods, came to him and told him she was in a happier 
land, and offered to take him there, that he might see for 
himself, if, upon his return, he would cease to mourn. 
The great chief promised. Then Ta-vwoats made a trail 
through the mountains that intervene between that beauti- 
ful land, the balmy region in the great west, and this, the 
desert home of the poor Numa. 

" This trail was the canyon gorge of the Colorado. 
Through it he led him; and, when they had returned, the 
deity exacted from the chief a promise that he would tell 
no one of the joys of that land, lest, through discontent 
with the circumstances of this world, they should desire to 
go to heaven. Then he rolled a river into the gorge, a 
broad, raging stream, that should engulf any that might 
attempt to enter thereby. 

" More than once I have been warned by the Indians not 
to enter this canyon. They considered it disobedience 



226 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

to the gods, and contempt for their authority, and believed 
it would surely bring upon one their wrath." 

Hopi Legend of Tiyo, their Cultus-Hero, and the Canyon. 
One of the most interesting legends of the Hopi cultus- 
hero, Tiyo, relates to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado 
River, and is told by Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, the eminent 
authority on the ethnology of the Hopis. It is a long story, 
but the chief portions of the narrative are as follows: 

Origin of Antelope and Snake Clans. " Far down in the 
lowest depths of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River 
(Pi-sis-bai-ya), at the place where we used to gather salt, 
is the Shipapu,or orifice where we emerged from the under- 
world. The Zunis, Kohoninos, Paiutes, white men, and all 
people came up from ' the below ' at that place. Some 
of our people traveled to the North, but the cold drove them 
back, and after many days they returned. The mothers, 
carrying their children on their backs, went out to gather 
seeds for food, and they plucked the prickly pears and 
gave it to their children to still their cries, and these have 
ever since been called the Prickly Pear People. 

" ' Morning Dove ' flew overhead, spying out the springs 
and calling us to come, and those who followed him, and 
built their houses at the waters he found, are still called 
after him the Hu-wi-nya-muh, or Morning Dove People. 
All that region belonged to the Puma, Antelope, Deer 
and other Horn people, and To-hi-a (puma) led my people, 
the To-hi-nyn-muh, to To-ko-na-bi (Navaho Mountain), 
and the Sand people and the Horn people also dwelt in 
the same region. 

" We built many houses at To-ko-na-bi, and lived there 
many days, but the springs were small, the clouds were 
thin, rain came seldom, and our corn was weak. The 
Ki-mon-wi (village chief) of the To-hi-nyn-muh had two 
sons and two daughters, and his eldest son was known by 
the name of Tiyo (the youth). He seemed to be always 
melancholy and thoughtful, and was wont to haunt the 
edge of the cliffs. All day he would sit there, gazing down 



INDIAN LEGENDS 227 

into the deep gorge (of the Grand Canyon), and wondering 
where the ever-flowing water went, and where it finally 
found rest. He often discussed this question with his 
father, saying, ' It must flow down some great pit, into 
the underworld, for after all these years the gorge below 
never fills up, and none of the water ever flows back again.' 
His father would say, ' Maybe it flows so far away that 
many old men's lives would be too short to mark its re- 
turn.' Tiyo said, ' I am constrained to go and solve this 
mystery, and I can rest no more till I make the venture.' 
His family besought him with tears to forego his project, 
but nothing could shake his determination, and he won 
them to give their sorrowful consent. 

" The father said, ' It is impossible for you to follow 
the river on foot, hence you must look for a hollow cotton- 
wood-tree, and I will help you make a wi-na-ci-buh (timber 
box) in which you may float upon the water.' Tiyo found 
a dry cottonwood-tree, which they felled, and cut off" as 
long as his body, and it was as large around as they both 
could encompass with their outstretched arms. They 
gouged and burned out all of the inside, leaving only a thin 
shell of dry wood like a large drum; small branches and 
twigs were fitted in the ends to close them, and the inter- 
stices were pitched with pinion gum. All this work was done 
with the stone axe and the live ember. 

" The father then announced that in four days Tiyo 
should set forth, and during that time the mother and her 
two daughters prepared kwip-do-si (a kind of corn meal 
made from corn which has been dried and then ground. A 
thin gruel is made of it) for food, and the father made 
prayer emblems and pahos. On the morning of the fifth 
day the father brought the emblems to Tiyo and laid 
them on a white cotton mantle, but before he wrapped 
them up, he explained their significance. He also gave 
him a wand to be used in guiding his box-boat, after which 
Tiyo crept into the box, received from his mother and sis- 
ters the food, and then his father closed the end of the 



228 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

box, gave it a push with his foot, and it floated away, 
bobbing up and down. 

" In one of its ends there was a small circular aperture, 
through which he thrust his wand, and pushed away from 
the rocks which were encountered. The spray splashed 
through the opening, and this he caught in his basin when 
he wished to drink or to mix his kwip-do-si, and he was also 
provided with a plug to close the hole when he neared 
the roaring waters. He floated over smooth waters and 
swift-rushing torrents, plunged down cataracts, and for 
many days spun through wild whirlpools, where black 
rocks protruded their heads like angry bears. 

" When the box finally stopped Tiyo drew the plug, 
and looking out saw on one side a muddy bank, and on the 
other nothing but water; so he pushed out the end, and 
taking his paho mantle in his hand passed to the dry land. 
He had gone but a little way when he heard the sound of 
* hist! hist! ' coming from the ground, and when this had 
been repeated four times, he descried a small round hole 
near his feet, and this was the house of Spider-Woman.^ 
' Um-pi-tuh,' said the voice (' you have arrived,' — the 
ordinary Hopi greeting). ' My heart is glad; I have long 
been expecting you; come down into my house.' * How 
can I,' said Tiyo, ' when it will scarce admit the point 
of my toe .'' ' She said, ' Try,' and when he laid his foot 
upon the hole, it widened out larger than his body, and 
he passed down into a roomy kiva." 

The legend then goes on to describe how Tiyo is taken 
and guided by the Spider-Woman to various places, where 
he learned all about the ceremonies that the Hopis now 
perform at their Snake Dance to produce rain. He met 
the Sun and the Great Snake (Go-to-ya), and Mu-i-yin- 
wuh (a divinity of the underworld who makes all the germs 

' Spider- Woman is an important figure in Hopi mythology. 
She it is who weaves the clouds so that rain may come. 
Hence in many Hopi ceremonies, where rain is prayed for, she 
is especially propitiated. 



INDIAN LEGENDS 229 

of life), and each taught him something he needed to 
learn. Finally, after many wonderful adventures, he was 
lifted out of the underworld as he sat in a ho-a-pah, a 
kind of wicker pannier, with two beautiful maidens of the 
snake kiva, by Spider-Woman, who carried him over the 
country and deposited him at his home. He married one 
of the maidens and thus founded the Snake Clan, and his 
brother married the other and founded the Snake-Antelope 
Clan. These two clans each year perform the ceremonies 
that produce rain in the desert land, where still live the 
descendants of Tiyo and his brother. 

Wallapai Legend of the Canyon. The Wallapais say 
that it was one of their cultus-heroes, Pack-i-tha-a-wi, 
who made the Grand Canyon. There had been a big 
flood, and the earth was covered with water. No one 
could stir but Pack-i-tha-a-wi, and he went forth carry- 
ing a big knife he had prepared of flint, and a large, 
heavy, wooden club. He struck the knife deep into the 
water-covered ground and then smote it deeper and 
deeper with his club. He moved it back and forth as 
he struck it further into the earth, until the canyon was 
formed through which all the water rushed out into the 
Sea of the Sunset. Then, as the sun shone, the ground 
became hard and solid, as we find it to-day. 

The Havasupai Legend of the Canyon. The Havasupais 
also have a legend connected with the making of the Grand 
Canyon, and the reader will observe with interest the 
points of the story that are similar to points in the Hopi 
story just given. This story was told to me by O-dig-i-ni- 
ni-na, one of the old men story-tellers of the Havasupais. 

" The two gods of the universe are Tochopa and Hoko- 
mata. Tochopa he heap good. Hokomata he heap bad 
— hanatopogi — alle same white man's devil. Him Ho- 
komata make big row with Tochopa, and he say he drown 
the world- 

" Tochopa was full of sadness at the news. He had one 
daughter whom he devotedly loved, and from her he had 



230 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

hoped would descend the whole human race for whom the 
world had been made. If Hokomata persisted in his wicked 
determination, she must be saved at all hazard. So, work- 
ing day and night, he speedily prepared the trunk of a 
pinion tree by hollowing it out from one end. In this hollow 
tree he placed food and other necessaries, and also made a 
lookout window. Then he brought his daughter, and 
telling her she must go into this tree and there be sealed 
up, he took a sad farewell of her, closed up the end of the 
tree, and then sat down to await the destruction of the 
world. It was not long before the floods began to descend. 
Not rain, but cataracts, rivers, deluges came, making more 
noise than a thousand Hackataias (Colorado Rivers) and 
covering all the earth with water. The pinion log floated, 
and in safety lay Pu-keh-eh, while the waters surged 
higher and higher, and covered the tops of Hue-han- 
a-patch-a (the San Francisco range), Hue-ga-woo-la (Wil- 
liams Mountain), and all the other mountains of the world. 

" But the waters of heaven could not always be pouring 
down, and soon after they had ceased, the flood upon the 
earth found a way to rush to the sea. And as it dashed 
down, it cut through the rocks of the plateaus, and made 
the deep Chic-a-mi-mi (canyon) of the Colorado River — 
Hackataia. Soon all the water was gone. 

" Then Pukeheh found the log no longer floating, and 
she peeped out of the window Tochopa had placed in her 
boat, and, though it was misty and almost dark she could 
see in the dim distance the great mountains of the San 
Francisco range. And near by was the Canyon of the Little 
Colorado, and to the west and north was Hackataia, and 
to the west was the Canyon of the Havasu. 

" The flood had lasted so long that she was grown to 
be a woman, and, seeing the water gone, she came out 
and began to make pottery and baskets, as her father had 
long ago taught her. But she was a woman. And what 
is a woman without a child in her arms or nursing at her 
breasts ? How she longed to be a mother! But where 



INDIAN LEGENDS 231 

was a father for her child ? Alas! there was not a man in the 
whole universe! 

" Day after day, longing for maternity filled her heart, 
until one morning — glorious morning for Pukeheh and 
the Havasu race — the darkness began to disappear, and 
in the far-away east soft and new brightness appeared. 
It was the triumphant Sun, coming to conquer the long 
night and bring light into the world. Nearer and nearer he 
came, and, at last, as he peeped over the far-away mesa 
summits, Pukeheh arose and thanked Tochopa, for here, 
at last, was a father for her child. She conceived, and in 
the fullness of time bore a son, whom she delighted in and 
called In-ya-a, the son of the Sun. 

" But as the days rolled on, she again felt the longings 
for maternity. By this time she had wandered far to the 
west and had entered the beautiful Canyon of the Havasu, 
where deep down between the rocks were several grand 
and glorious waterfalls, and one of these, Wa-ha-hath- 
peek-ha-ha, she determined should be the father of her 
second child. 

" When it was born it was a girl, and to this day all the 
girls of the Havasu are proud to be called ' Daughters of the 
water.' 

" When these two children grew up they married, and 
thus became the progenitors of the human race. First 
the Havasupais were born, then the Apaches, then the 
Wallapais, then the Hopis, then the Paiutes, then the 
Navahos. 

" And Tochopa told them all where they should live, 
and you find them there to this day." 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE COLORADO RIVER FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA 

Perhaps no river in the world has so remarkable a 
life-history as has the Colorado. It is formed of two great 
streams, the Green and the Grand. Both have their 
rise in the far-away mountains, in banks of virgin and 
purest snow. Hence the waters of the Colorado at their 
source are pure and sweet. Yet such is the vehement force 
of this river, such its haste to reach the ocean, that it cuts 
down and carries with it millions of tons annually of sand 
and silt, rock debris and dirt until, when it reaches the 
desert, through which it flows as a lazy dragon, reddish- 
yellow, tawny, it is the dirtiest stream in the world. For 
not only does it carry the sand of its own grinding, as it 
passes through the hundred miles of canyon of its waterway, 
but it accepts the sweepings of vast areas made by its tribu- 
taries. Some of these extend through barren and desolate 
areas, — great stretches of the most forsaken desert lands, 
where the rains occasionally pour down with deluge-like 
force. Cloudbursts and floods are common; for the whole 
country is high in altitude, with rising peaks, where elec- 
tric storms play and rage, and the clouds drop, with a sudden 
sweep, their whole burden of water to the earth beneath. At 
other times, the waters are allowed to pour down in torren- 
tial rains which quickly deluge the land, and as there are 
no barriers to hinder or detain, they sweep down the in- 
hospitable slopes to the stream beds, carrying with them 
all the sand, silt, rock debris, vegetable mould and ani- 
mal matter that have accumulated since the last storm. 




Cotyi'gl't by Detroit Publishing Co. 
THE PASS ON BOUCHER TRAIL. 

Poge 45 




GRANITE GOKCE. FROM PLATEAU SECTION OF BRIGHT 

ANGEL TRAIL. 
Page 62 



THE COLORADO RIVER 233 

So that while at its source it is the purest river in the 
world, at its mouth it is the dirtiest and most repulsive. 
The Mississippi, with many more miles of length, the Nile, 
the Amazon, the Yangste-Kiang, the Hoang-Ho, are all far 
cleaner at their mouths than is this insatiable dragon of 
the Canyon. 

Carrying Power of the River. This suggests another 
singularity in which it doubtless reigns supreme. Probably 
no river in the world, of its length, has anything like the 
carrying power of the Colorado within its waters. Notice 
that I say " within its waters." It is useless for carrying 
anything on its bosom. No ships use its waters for benefi- 
cent commerce. Its only carrying power is in the amount 
of sand and other material it holds in solution, and carries 
within itself. 

Its Incredible Descent. For it is doubtful whether any 
river in the world has so rapid a descent from towering 
mountain heights to its receiving ocean, as has the Colo- 
rado. It falls over four thousand two hundred feet from 
its source to its mouth, and in less than five hundred miles 
of its distance it contains five hundred and twenty rapids, 
falls and cataracts. A fall or a rapid or a cataract for every 
mile, and a few over for good measure. Who can conceive 
the peril of journeying through such a river ? And until 
the facts were known, how hopeless to attempt to ascend 
such a river, as did Alar^on, Ives and Wheeler! 

Useless for Commerce. As already stated, it is the most 
useless of the large rivers of the world as a carrier of ships 
of commerce. No boat, carrying produce of field, mill or 
mart, has ever passed up or down its course. No white- 
winged schooner or other merchantman has enlivened its 
course by proudly gliding on its bosom to waiting port, 
where cargoes are discharged and received. No thrilling 
fleet of battleships ever has seen its banks, or ever will, — 
for it is useless, absolutely, irretrievably, God-ordainedly 
useless for all purposes of commerce, traflSc, or communica- 
tion. 



234 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Dangerous and Destructive. Read the accounts of" 
Powell's trips down its dangerous course; of Alar^on's 
struggles to ascend its headlong tides; of Ives's and Wheeler's 
attempts to explore a portion of it; of Cardenas's efforts 
even to reach its waters from one of its banks, and of the 
ruthless manner in which it has destroyed the lives of those 
unfortunate enough to come within its reach. Then you 
will see how absolutely useless a river it is. In this regard 
the Colorado River is unique. Most rivers carry beneficent 
life all along their journey. They distribute fructifying 
waters, from their rise to their end in the sea. Thriving 
towns and villages line their banks, all surrounded by a 
fertile farming country. But not so the Colorado!, It 
has cut its way through the rocks so fiercely that it is 
buried a thousand, two thousand, three thousand and even 
five thousand and more feet below the surrounding country. 
It and its tributaries drain away even the water that falls 
in gentle showers, before it has time to benefit the thirsty 
land. Only by the expensive construction of cemented 
cisterns and occasional dams can the rancher, stockman 
and miner of the region hoard for his scantest needs 
enough of this precious fluid. Even the hotels that are 
placed upon its brink to afford stopping-places for the 
curious travelers who wish to see this river and its unique 
waterway are compelled to haul their trains of water-cars 
nearly a hundred miles to supply themselves with the water 
which the Colorado River drains from their very dooryards 
and empties in reckless neglect into the Gulf of California. 

Yields No Electrical Power. Other rivers throughout 
California and the West are yielding millions of volts 
annually of electrical energy, for the lighting and heating 
of cities, the turning of mill-wheels, and the running of 
electric cars; but the Colorado, though possessed of a 
potential energy greater than any ten or twenty of these 
rivers combined, so far has refused to yield up a single 
volt. Again and again engineers have estimated and sug- 
gested, but the great facts remain that it is so uncertain, 



THE COLORADO RIVER 235 

so wild, so impetuous, so sure to rise when unexpected, so 
sure to fall when relied upon, that, as yet, no one has been 
found venturesome enough to try to tame and harness its 
fierce energy. 

Waters to be Diverted by a Dam. Yet in spite of these 
serious charges I make against the Colorado, it is pecuHar 
in that it is the most useful of the large rivers of the world 
in another domain. The United States Reclamation Ser- 
vice has spent millions of the people's money in making 
it of use. At Laguna, a few miles above Yuma, it has 
built a huge dam — larger than any similar dam in the 
world — that diverts these once turbulent waters into 
irrigating ditches to convey their life-giving power to 
thousands upon thousands of acres of desert land. The 
Blythe Estate is doing the same thing a hundred or more 
miles higher up, near Parker, on the Santa Fe, and already 
towns and settlements are springing up on those desert 
wastes. The California Development Company began this 
work, four miles below Yuma, in 1900, and in four years 
had converted that great sink of the Colorado Desert 
into the richly fertile domain now known as the Imperial 
Valley, where to-day are many growing towns. 

Opportunities for Swimming. Though the current of 
the Colorado is so strong, there are times and places where 
it affords one who is not over-fastidious as to the color of the 
water, an opportunity for an excellent swim. But care 
must be exercised. At the foot of Bass Trail, there are 
two or three rocky recesses where one may go in and swim, 
within the arms of the protecting rocks, without danger. 
It is not well to swim in the earlier months of the year, 
when the water is excessively cold. Several times in Janu- 
ary and February I have been overcome with temptation, 
and have jumped in " merely for the plunge." The sensa- 
tion is one of being skinned alive, and one plunge is all 
that one cares for. Yet on emerging and dressing, how 
fine one feels after it. The great melting time of the snows 
on the mountains is the end of May, June and early July. 



236 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

It grows warmer in July, and from then on to December 
one may enjoy it. In September and October it is gen- 
erally deliciously warm, and I have gone in half a dozen 
times a day. A good swimmer can cross the stream, if he 
does not lose his head, for the current is powerful, and one 
is borne down far faster than he imagines, and it is much 
further across than it seems to be. Several times, when 
I have wanted to cross, and there was no boat, I have swam 
across to the other side, wearing my shirt and trousers 
and carrying my boots slung around my neck. But it is 
hard work and scarcely worth the risk. 

An Exciting Swim. Last year at the foot of the 
Red Canyon Trail, I had two most delightful swims — 
one on the night of the arrival of our party, the other by 
starlight next morning. Though there is an ugly rapid 
at this place, one may go up stream far enough to get away 
from danger, for a half-moon-shaped mass of rock affords 
safe shelter, and deep enough water for swimming. The 
night swim was so refreshing that I could not resist the 
allurement to take another in the morning, before we left 
camp. The order had been given for an early start, which 
meant breakfast at earliest dawn, so that I had to go down 
to the river while the stars were yet shining. The water 
was quite warm, and as soon as I felt myself in its soothing 
embrace a half-dreamy mood came over me, and, throwing 
myself upon my back, I yielded to it, quietly pushing my- 
self, as I thought, against the stream, but heading for the 
other side. Though conscious of the enjoyment of the 
exercise, and the delicious sensation of the water around my 
body, my thoughts ran away with me, and I suddenly awoke 
to myself and the full significance of my surroundings by 
finding myself more than half-way across the river, in the 
swiftest part of the current, which was rapidly carrying me 
down to the rapids. For a few moments I was dreadfully 
alarmed. My heart stood still, and the surprise of it almost 
paralysed me. I remember distinctly my thoughts and 
reasoning. They were somewhat as follows: " The current 



THE COLORADO RIVER 237 

on the south side is far less strong than on this side. There- 
fore it will be much easier to go back than to try to reach 
the north shore, which seems to be and is so much the 
nearer. If, however, you can't make it, what then 1 You'll 
go into the rapids. If you are dashed headlong or sideways 
against any of the five hundred and one waiting rocks, 
that will doubtless be the end of you; but there is a good 
chance that you may get through without hitting anything. 
A minute, or two minutes at the most, will see you through 
the rapids to calm current beyond. You can hold your 
breath that length of time, so that the spray and wildly 
tossing waves of the rapids, the froth and spume, will 
not get up your nose and choke you." 

In the meantime, I had fixed my eye on an immense 
square block of rock, that rested just above the dangerous 
rapids, and close to the southern shore. I knew if I could 
reach the shore inside that rock I was safe, so striking out 
vigorously, and aiming for a point far above it, I swam 
as strongly as I knew how, making every stroke tell, re- 
fusing to be alarmed or confused by the terrifying roar of 
the rapids, which now seemed but a step away. I did not 
have to test my method of going through the rapids. I 
reached the shore in safety, walked back to camp, had a 
good breakfast, made all the more appetizing by my 
swim and the consequent danger, and in half an hour the 
ride up the trail and my companions were absorbing all 
my attention. To all of them, save one, this recital of my 
morning's adventure will be new. 

Dangerous Unless Known Well. That the river is more 
dangerous than most people imagine, the bleaching bones 
of many a poor wretch who has been drowned in its treach- 
erous waters fully attest. More than one prospector, 
cattleman, or even cattle and horse " rustler " (as in 
Arizona parlance a cattle and horse-thief is known), with too 
great self-confidence, has attempted to cross on a log, 
in a leaky skiff, or in a canvas boat, and ere he was aware 
of his danger, the current had swept him out of reach of 



238 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

all help. It is a river to know ere you risk yourself upon 
or in it. 

Getting Animals across the River. Who could begin to 
recount the fun and frolic, and at the same time the worry 
and vexation we have experienced in taking horses, mules 
and burros across this surly river. We have crossed at all 
times of the year, at high water and low, when the water 
was cold enough to give one cramps merely to look at it, and 
when it was comfortably warm. Sometimes we had no 
trouble; then we felt how smart we were, and it made us 
happy; at other times the animals seemed to be " pos- 
sessed." Sometimes it is the horses that are afraid; at 
others it is the mules; and sometimes the burros; gener- 
ally all three together. The modus is to put your strongest 
rower in the boat, and then a man with plenty of nerve 
in the stern to handle the rope and the animal to which it is 
attached, — when you get the latter into the water. As 
many persons as then can be assembled get behind the 
animal to persuade it to enter the water. The boat is 
ready to go as soon as the animal is " in," but yet it prefers 
to be " out." Yellings, shoutings, pushings are of little or 
no avail, and the gentle pleadings of the man with the rope 
are as effective as Mrs. Partington's sweeping back of the 
Atlantic with a broom. Vigorous measures must be used, 
so a concerted movement is projected. At a given signal the 
boat is to be pushed off, the oarsman ply his oars with 
power, the man in the stern is to pull with energy, and a 
man at each flank of the animal is to push, while every other 
being is to do his or her part by a shout or a boost. One 
man swings a riata to help scare the animal in, and the boat 
pulls out into the current. We all stand and watch. What 
is the fool horse doing ? Scared at first of going into the 
water, he now is making desperate efforts to climb into the 
boat. His rope is held as tightly as possible, but the beast 
swims frantically from one side to the other, endeavoring to 
climb aboard. His knees thump the boat, and his chin 
occasionally rests on the gunwale, but active interference 




COLORADO RIVER AND THE NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA. 

Page 2ig 




W. IV. Buss, Photo. 

THE COLORADO RIVER. FOOT OF BASS TRAIL. 

Page 94 




Copyright by Detroit Publishing Co, 
DRIPPING SPRING, GENERAL VIEW. 
Page 45 



THE COLORADO RIVER 239 

thrusts him back. In the meantime, the current is taking the 
boat well down the river, but we are not alarmed, for we 
have a good half-mile stretch, with convenient sandy places 
on the north side, on which to land. Now the horse settles 
down to steady hard work, and at last, catching sight of the 
tiny beach, he breaks away from the boat and strikes out 
for himself, reaching shore before the rower. 

Back they come for another. Now we try two burros. 
Firmly they brace themselves, and refuse to be pushed into 
the tawny flood. Then they dodge and run and tangle each 
other up with their neck ropes, patiently strangling each 
other with desperate insistence. At length they are pushed 
in, and off they go. After a good ducking, they come up 
with a snort and a bounce, a look of martyr-like meekness 
in their eyes, as they settle down to the inevitable. No ani- 
mal on earth can teach man more than a burro in this regard. 
He accepts what can't be helped, makes the best of it, and 
gains happiness out of every patch of thistles and grass 
he can push his nose into. So, as we look into the eyes of 
these burros, as they rapidly " paw " the current, we can 
see a look of expectation and content which plainly says : 
" Cheer up, brother, this will soon be over, and on the 
north side we'll get better feed than we've been having 
lately." 

A mule's desperate plunges to escape generally aid us 
to get him into the water, for he loses his balance and is 
easily pushed in. But his look of dazed surprise is comical 
when, after such a plunge, in which he sinks below his 
head, he arises, snorts, blows the water out of his nostrils, 
and begins to look about him. The burro part of his nature, 
however, soon settles him down, and he pulls out for the 
shore, glad to rejoin his companions. 

Once in a while an animal breaks loose, gets half-way 
across, becomes confused, and not knowing which way to 
go, is carried down to the rapids and dashed to death. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

CLIMATE AND WEATHER AT THE GRAND CANYON 

Difference between Rim and Canyon. The climate 
at the Grand Canyon refuses to be defined in a paragraph. 
What is true of the country along the rim is not true of the 
banks of the river itself. The midway region, half-way 
down the trail, likewise has a climate all its own. For 
as you go down in summer, the thermometer goes up; and 
as you come up, in winter, the thermometer goes down. The 
difference of nearly a mile in altitude between the sur- 
face of the Colorado River and the rim of the Canyon 
is equivalent to going hundreds of miles north and south 
on the level. Hence it is that when it is winter on the rim, 
it is like spring down in the depths; when it is spring on 
the top of the world, the heat below is tropical. 

Weather not Extreme. Bear in mind, though, that neither 
the cold of winter nor the heat of summer, in northern 
Arizona, are as frigid or as torrid as the readings of the 
thermometer may seem to indicate. The cold or heat is 
not felt to such an extreme as in the East. A minimum of 
humidity is the basic reason for this wide difference be- 
tween, for example, the July or January climate of New 
York, and the July or January climate of the Grand Canyon. 
Extremes that in New York drive people to the cool sea- 
shore or to California's winter warmth, here bring no 
discomfort. You don't feel the weather changes so much, 
just because the air is so much dryer. 

Mild in Smnmer and in Winter. Again, the altitude of 
the Grand Canyon rim — in places nearly a mile and a 



CLIMATE AND WEATHER 241 

half above sea-level — makes the summers cooler than the 
latitude w^ould indicate. It is ten degrees cooler, in July, 
at Flagstaff, Arizona, than at Salt Lake City, three hundred 
miles north in Utah. In turn, the southerly location of this 
titanic wonderland causes the winters to be milder than in 
Colorado, Utah and Montana. 

Average Condition. Visitors should bear in mind that 
the Grand Canyon is an all-the-year-round resort. Unlike 
the Yellowstone and many other far west scenic play- 
grounds, one may visit there with comfort any time of the 
year. While certain periods are more favorable than 
others for outdoor life, each season has its distinctive 

joys. 

As a rule, this part of Arizona is a true land of sunshine. 
Sunny days are largely in evidence. 

As a rule, the air is dry. Even the rains don't soak it 
through. 

As a rule, except on the edge of the rim, the wind velocity 
is under the average. 

As a rule, one may ride, walk or loaf outdoors, without 
fear of overexertion. The air is like wine, it builds one 
anew. 

Yet the weather is not perfect. You may strike a small 
sandstorm in midsummer. You may hit a blizzard in mid- 
winter. A torrential shower may drench you. A fervent 
sun may unduly tan you. But these deviations from Para- 
dise come only occasionally; they are the bitter that makes 
the sweet more sweet. 

I can safely promise you, nine times out of ten, pleasanter 
weather than you would find if at home. And that is the 
best test. 

Rest-cure. Those who visit the Canyon oftenest and 
stay longest find the least fault with its weather. For my- 
self, I never complain; rather I always look forward with 
great joy to an outing here. For besides being an unparal- 
leled scenic spectacle, the Grand Canyon is the greatest 
of rest-cures. I know of nothing better for tired nerves 



242 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

and worn-out bodies than to summer or winter along its 
rim, and down below where the river runs. 

Because the weather one year never is like the year 
before or after, I cannot accurately forecast what you will 
find of heat or cold, wet or dry, when you visit the Canyon. 
Even the " weather man " is not infallible in his predic- 
tions. I only can outline a reasonable average, resting upon 
observations made during a score of years. 

Winter Months. From late in November to the end of 
April, snow may be expected at any time on the rim, though 
many of the most delightful days of the year occur in these 
months. Snow usually does not fall until after Christmas. 
Some years the winter is almost snowless; other years there 
is enough snow to make fine sleighing. June and July 
are the warm summer months, with August hot; but the 
heat is likely to be tempered by the rain. From the middle 
of July to about the end of October, rains may be looked 
for at any time, and the days after the rains are generally 
cool, delicious and altogether desirable. Now and again, 
both before and after a rain, the air will be moist and sultry, 
somewhat as it is in the East, but this condition is so rare 
as to cause surprise. Generally the air is dry, and the sun 
shines warmly, so that " catching cold " is infrequent. 

Late Fall Most Pleasant. In my varied experience at the 
Canyon, I have found the months of September, October, 
and November most agreeable in spite of an occasional hot 
day in September. January and March are often perfect 
months, and while there may be a little (or much) snow 
on the rim, I regard the winter as the most delightful time 
for trips into the Canyon. The snow may make the trail 
slippery and disagreeable for the first mile or so, then one 
reaches the dry and snowless region where, practically, 
snow never falls, yet where the heat from radiating rock 
walls is tempered and subdued by the coolness from the 
snow above. 

May Good for Visitors. May also is a good month for 
visitors, with more possibilities of agreeable days than 



CLIMATE AND WEATHER 243 

February or April, though the warm days begin to come 
on apace soon after the middle of the month. 

Fog in the Canyon. Upon rare occasions, fog banks sink 
into the Canyon deeps, and even now and again completely 
hide it from view. Do not let such a sight disappoint you. 
The fact is, you are being highly favored. If you will but 
exercise patience, you will see many marvels when the sun 
begins to work upon the fog. Slowly the great mass begins 
to show signs of uneasiness ; large and small masses become 
broken off, and struggle as if to ascend; then, stretching 
apart as one stretches a mass of white cotton-batting, they 
are speedily dissipated into mist, and disappear. Below, 
in the deeper reaches, the fog rolls and tosses as if sleeping 
uneasily in its rocky bed. Great detached masses of rock 
that the eye had not been able to discern before are now 
made clear, the white fog behind them revealing their out- 
lines in startling clearness. Indeed a fog may be called 
" the great revealer of the inner mysteries of the Canyon." 
It certainly shows forth more of the separating walls and 
canyons, and the detached buttes, than the most observant 
can discover in a month, without its presence. 

Clouds and Rain. There are times, in August and Septem- 
ber, when rain is to be expected, that the whole heavens are 
patched over with clouds. The sun shines on and through 
them, and the atmosphere becomes murky and sultry to 
unpleasantness. Then, suddenly, there is a change in the 
temperature of the upper air, the moisture is condensed, 
and refreshing rain falls to cool and cheer the earth that 
before was parched and thirsty. 

A Battle Royal. One morning I watched a battle of the 
clouds over the Canyon. The wind had been blowing hard 
all night. About five o'clock I arose, attracted to the rim 
of the Canyon by a great black cloud that seemed banked 
up and resting on the north rim, covering, as with a blanket 
of blackest smoke, the long, visible stretch of the Kaibab 
Plateau. By and by the sun shot piercing beams of golden 
glory underneath the cloud, yet, strong and powerful 



244 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

though they were, they could not penetrate the cloud itself. 
There was the great wall of the Canyon; fierce, fiery, 
crimson-golden rays shooting in thin streaks above, banked 
over and pressed down upon by a towering mass of angry 
clouds. The wind blew strongly and fiercely from the 
east, bringing fleecy-edged clouds with it. Down in the 
Canyon the effects were wonderful. The walls reflected 
the anger of the clouds, and the fire of the sun. Here and 
there a wall, a tower, or a pinnacle would be lit up with a 
golden glory, but all around was smoky and forbidding. 
It even seemed as if a grayish black smoke was ascending 
from the depths beneath, through which the sun — in- 
visible behind the cloud above — shot lancelike beams, 
which silvered the smoke and made it a little more gray. 
On the far western walls, rich purples and reds appeared. 
Then, suddenly, a soft and fleecy cloud appeared in the 
clear blue of the morning sky, floating towards me. It 
was awe-inspiring and yet startling, for it came like a giant 
battleship, resistlessly and silently shouldering its way along. 
Entranced I watched it, almost inclined to run, so as to give 
it free course, for it was low down and apparently very near, 
and moving with more than ordinary speed. Suddenly 
another cloud appeared, travelling after the first. As it 
came, the earlier one veered to the north, and began to cross 
the Canyon, losing some of its serenity and calmness of 
manner as it did so; for now, either as the result of conflict 
from within, or silent influence from without, it began to 
writhe and change its shape. Ugly angles were thrust out 
from its hitherto smooth sides, and sent waving and tossing 
aloft. While this was occurring, the second cloud veered, 
and when I gazed again, after withdrawing my attention 
for a few moments, the two were one, the subtle yet power- 
ful forces in the air having wedded them. Together they 
slowly floated north and east. In the meantime, other 
clouds had been coming from the east. They sailed along 
serenely until they came within what appeared to be a few 
hundred yards of me, and then suddenly they veered to 



CLIMATE AND WEATHER 245 

the north, crossed the Canyon, and joined the vast army 
of clouds that lay in solemn quietude, waiting for the de- 
cisive battle of the day. I went away from the rim for an 
hour or so, and when I returned not a trace of a cloud was to 
be seen. 

A Beautiful Fog Effect. Another morning I saw the 
Grand Canyon as one hears an exquisite poem, a soft strain 
of music on violin, 'cello or oboe, or sung by the human voice. 
It was no longer terrifying and awe-inspiring; it affected 
one as beautiful flowers do, as the blessing of an old man or 
woman, as the half unconscious caress of a sleepy child 
whom you love. It was poetry personified; the spirit of 
beauty revealed; the inner glory of an artistic mystery un- 
veiled. 

There had been rain nearly all night, preceded by con- 
siderable wind. The clouds had massed together across 
the Canyon on the Kaibab. Winds had seemed to blow 
from every direction, but mainly from the southeast, and 
there were a few " sunshiny showers " in the late after- 
noon. The rain began after the sun had gone down, and 
it descended easily but steadily nearly all night. At six 
o'clock in the morning, not a glimpse of the Canyon could 
be had. It was completely buried, wrapped, enveloped in 
clouds. About nine o'clock these began to move. The 
rain ceased, tiny patches of blue shone through the clouds 
overhead, though east, west, north, south they were still 
black and lowering. It was cold almost to chilliness after 
the warmth of the preceding days, so there was no haste, 
no hurry, in the dispersion of the cloud blankets that 
covered the rocky walls and plateaus below. Slowly they 
began to rise, then to stretch out and become attenuated. 
Tiny gusts of wind played with them, and tossed them hither 
and thither. Banks of smoky gray lay over certain portions, 
but there was no regularity, no evenness, either in the 
clouds themselves, or in their disposition. East and west 
thick masses hid all vision; immediately at our feet the 
clouds filled the lower canyons below the plateaus, with a 



246 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

glorious, fleecy, silvery white, that tempted one to walk 
upon it into the realms of fairyland and wonder. Fleeces 
of irregular shape, but a mile long and two miles wide, 
slowly lifted themselves from a horizontal position to a 
vertical one, thus converting themselves from blankets 
into curtains. Yet behind and through them, — as a coy 
beauty half reveals, half conceals, her charms, — so the 
walls and buttes, the pinnacles and buttresses, took on a 
new and delicate beauty, a subtleness of charm and re- 
finement that only such a veiling could produce. Every 
moment the panorama changed. This was veiled com- 
pletely, that entirely uncovered, while other features were 
dimly discernible, or so softened by the fleecy, attenuated 
clouds that they seemed the airy fabrics of a child's dream 
of oriental splendor. Now as filmy steam, then as densest 
vapor boiling up from a world-deep cauldron of unearthly 
beauty, the moisture moved, here catching rapidly ascend- 
ing currents of air, there lazily floating with serenest ease. 
It was hard to tear oneself away, and the mind still lingers 
and will often again recur to it, as one of the many never 
to be forgotten experiences of this most wonderful place. 




Copyright, 189S, by George Wharton James. 
A BEND IN GLEN CANYON, COLORADO RIVER. 
Page 252 




LOOKING DOWN TRAIL CANYON. 




WALLS OF LIMESTONE IN MARBLE CANYON. 
Page 252 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE GRAND CANYON FOR PLEASURE, REST AND RECUPERA- 
TION 

Unchanging Value of the Canyon. Many people think 
of the Grand Canyon as a show place, which, once seen, 
does not need to be revisited. Never was there a greater 
mistake, for its resources are inexhaustible, even though 
one visit it annually for a lifetime. The business man 
invests in stocks and bonds. A panic may wipe out their 
values and ruin follow in a night-time. But a visit to the 
Grand Canyon is an investment that yields interest manifold 
and compounded, as long as the faculty of memory remains. 
Better still, there is no middleman in the deal. The ticker 
does not reel off the changing values. You yourself are 
the banker, and the joys of beholding and possessing are 
permanent. 

Its Mental and Spiritual Influence. The first impres- 
sions, maybe, are productive of physical and mental 
excitement. But when the traveler comes into complete 
harmony with the Grand Canyon's sublime features, bodily 
rest and mental tranquillity are sure to follow. Of course, 
we get out of Nature what we bring to her mentally and 
spiritually, but of no other place can it be truly said that 
the play of external forces has so sure a charm, so direct 
an influence. A man big mentally cannot be satisfied 
(when away from his work) with a place inferior to that 
with which he is habitually acquainted. Thus many a 
man, wise and thoughtful in all the other relations of his 
life, will go to some inferior place for his holiday, and 



248 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

return home dissatisfied. He has chosen unwisely. He 
has associated with that which is beneath him. Man's 
scenic environment and its influence over him are as much 
a matter of scientific knowledge, as the influence of his 
heredity or his food. A wise man, therefore, puts 
himself, at vacation time, in relationship with that scenic 
environment which will best minister to his welfare. Nature 
is God's provision for supplying man with his needed 
rest and recuperation. 

Its Restful and Strengthening Qualities. Some prefer 
the forests, others the mountains, others the sea, others the 
plains, others the solitudes of the desert. Among them all 
in power to recuperate man's exhausted energies, the 
Grand Canyon stands supreme. " I come here again and 
again, because nowhere else do I find such rest and 
strength," said one of the leading men of California to me, 
in the rendezvous of El Tovar, only a short time ago. My 
own life and experience is a proof of this statement. For 
nearly twenty years I have been visiting the Canyon an- 
nually, and for many years there were few conveniences, 
such as railway and hotels. Now these are provided. One 
may leave his office in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago 
or Kansas City, and in a Pullman car ride direct to the 
Canyon, where a few steps will lead him into one of the 
most perfectly equipped, yet homelike hotels in America. 
And there, without effort or fatigue, he comes face to 
face with this rest-giving, strength-producing Canyon. 
As soon as a man or woman learns this, you can scarcely 
get him, or her, to wait the coming of the regular holiday 
period. The appeal of the Canyon is as strong as the 
" call of the wild," and that man or woman needing quiet 
is wisest who yields to the call, and yields often, going to 
the Canyon in perfect faith that it has within itself re- 
cuperative powers which it is ready to give in full measure 
to those who are in need. 

Ways in Which to Recuperate. To those who recuperate 
best by contact with Nature out-of-doors, the suggestions 



THE GRAND CANYON FOR PLEASURE 249 

contained in the chapters devoted to the various outing 
trips will be useful. Those who wish to lounge and rest, 
surrounded without by all the sublimity of this unequalled 
scene, and within by all the comforts and luxuries of a 
modern hotel, will find that the Grand Canyon absolutely 
satisfies their most exacting demands. Easy and gentle 
drives, with perfect equipment, over forest roads, in the 
restfully stimulating atmosphere of Arizona, at an elevation 
of nearly seven thousand feet, soothe tired brain and 
nerves. More vigorous horseback exercises, taken through 
the park-like glades and reaches of the Coconino Forest, 
produce perfect digestion and the restfulness of dreamless 
sleep. The sun tans you. You breathe a pure, thin air, 
laden with scent of pine and cedar. Your lungs expand, 
your muscles harden. Soon you are " fit for a king." 

The Mecca of the Traveling World. There are many 
canyons, but the Grand Canyon of Arizona is the Mecca 
of the traveling world; and El Tovar always has the housing 
of the choice spirits who have run the gamut of tourist 
delights in other lands. This home-like inn shelters men of 
letters, scientists, geologists, artists and business men. 
Any night in the year, on the rim of this wonderful abyss, 
there will be found a miniature city, with its life and sparkle, 
its fellowships and social converse, its bustle and abandon, 
and, best of all, the simon-pure democracy inherent among 
traveled men and women. 

In magical contrast with this human centre, is the 
near by solitude, for one may in a moment step from the 
companionship of men to the isolation of the desert or 
mountain — at will you may be one of the crowd or a 
hermit. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE STORY OF A BOAT 

The Utah. Near the rim of the Canyon, at El Tovar 
Hotel, is a steel boat, sixteen feet long, scarred and battered, 
showing signs of the roughest usage, named the Utah. 
Here is its story: 

Leper Plans to Explore the Canyon. For ten years after 
Galloway's first trip was made, no one was found venture- 
some enough to risk the dangers of the Canyon journey 
until the man who built the Utah and his two com- 
panions resolved to " dare and do." These men were 
Charles S. Russell, of Prescott, Arizona, Edward R. 
Monett, of Goldfield, Nevada, and Albert Loper, of Louis- 
iana, Missouri. Russell was thirty-one years of age, Monett 
twenty-three, and Loper thirty-eight years. 

The plan originated in the mind of Loper, in a mine in 
Cripple Creek, in 1899. Six years later, Loper had been 
attracted to the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado 
in Southeastern Utah, by the excitement created by the 
discovery of placer mining there. He confided to Russell 
his belief that the Colorado River offered much greater 
chances of richer placer mining. 

Difficulty in Finding Companions. The men planned 
to make their start in the spring of 1900. But they 
presently discovered that the undertaking they had faced 
so lightly presented almost insurmountable difficulties. 
At the outset, the men found it was necessary to have 
at least one more companion if they were to accomplish 
their undertaking, and four men were preferable to three. 



THE STORY OF A BOAT 251 

But the most daring of the men they met in the mines 
refused to consider such a trip. 

Plans Begin to Materialize. It was consequently not 
until April of 1908 that their long-laid plans began to ma- 
terialize. Loper met Monett, a boy in appearance, seem- 
ingly not strong, and unusually quiet, as he did his day's 
work in the Mohawk mine in Goldfield. But that Monett 
was not a boy — in courage at least — and not as weak as a 
casual glance suggested, was presently evidenced. Loper 
notified Russell, then foreman of the mine near Prescott, 
that the third man had been found. A meeting was ar- 
ranged at Green River early in September. 

Boats Are Made. Three boats were made, with stout 
wooden frames, covered with hulls of steel plates. Each 
boat was decked over, fore and aft, with sheet steel covers, 
bolted down by means of a row of small bolts along each 
gunwale. Covers, on decks, reached from each end to the 
bulkhead placed near the center of the boats, thus leaving 
an open compartment, three and a half feet long, for the 
oarsman. All the loads were placed under cover, and se- 
curely lashed to prevent shifting. The boats were also 
provided with air-tight compartments in each end, and 
under the seat, containing sufficient air to float both boat 
and load, should all the other compartments be full of 
water. The boats were named the Arizona, the Utah, and 
the Nevada. Each was equipped with provisions for three 
months. 

The Start. The start was made down the Green River, 
September 20. Four days later, the trio had reached the 
junction of the Green and Grand Rivers, the beginning of 
the Colorado, having covered a distance of one hundred and 
twenty miles. From this point to Hite, a small town near 
the Arizona line, the first bad water was encountered in 
the forty-one miles of Cataract Canyon. Loper's boat 
met with disasters here — dashing on a rock and tearing 
a long rent in its side — and giving warning of the inferiority 
of these thin metal boats to the stout oak craft used by the 



252 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

Powell party. The party managed to reach Hite, how- 
ever, towing the damaged boat, and there made the neces- 
sary repairs. 

Loper Stays at Hite. Loper had acted as photographer 
of the expedition, and had the camera and the plates in 
his boat, when it was filled with water. Examination 
showed that the plates were ruined, and the camera shutter 
badly rusted. It was decided that Loper should remain 
behind at Hite, and await the arrival of a new shutter for 
which he had written. It was agreed that he need not be 
thus delayed more than two weeks, and should be able 
to rejoin his companions at Lee's Ferry, a Mormon settle- 
ment of three families, one hundred and forty miles below 
Hite, within twenty-one days. 

Russell and Monett Start. Accordingly, Russell and 
Monett pushed ahead, and put in many days prospecting 
along the shores of Glen Canyon. After forty-three days 
of waiting at Lee's Ferry, Russell and Monett decided that 
if they were to complete the trip before their now rapidly 
decreasing supply of provisions was exhausted, they must 
start on without Loper, for whom they had waited more 
than twice the time agreed on. Friday, December 13, had 
no terrors for the intrepid pair, and on the morning of that 
day they started on down the river, with the sixty-six 
miles of Marble Canyon in front of them, an introduction 
to the two hundred and seventeen miles of the Grand 
Canyon below. 

Their Remarkable Nerve. In telling of this stage of the 
journey, Russell seemed to lose sight entirely of the re- 
markable nerve both men showed in starting down through 
what is admittedly the wildest stretch of continuous bad 
water in the whole river. And that, too, without the third 
companion, who at the outset had been considered abso- 
lutely indispensable to the success of the party. Instead, 
he emphasized rather his belief that Loper had elected 
to face no more dangers, and had voluntarily remained 
behind at Hite. 




Pliotograflicd by Karl Moon for Fred Harvey, Kansas City. 
CHARLES S. RUSSELL SHOOTING HERMIT CREEK RAPIDS IN 

STEEL ROWBOAT, JANUARY, I908. 

Page 254 




CROSSING LEE S FERRY, COLORADO RIVER. 

Page 252 



THE STORY OF A BOAT 253 

First Seven Days Passed in Safety. In seven days they had 
passed the length of the roaring stream, in its descent 
through perpendicular walls of marble, reaching up to an 
average height of two thousand five hundred feet, and had 
come through the worst rapids to that point, without 
damage to either boat. At one stage there are fifty-seven 
falls of from sixteen to twenty feet in a distance of nineteen 
miles, according to Stanton's records, in which was kept 
an accurate count of all the rapids in the river. 

Enter the Grand Canyon. They entered the Grand 
Canyon December 20. For the first fifteen miles below 
the entrance of the Little Colorado, and the beginning 
of the big Canyon, they found comparatively quiet water. 
But from this point, on to the beginning of the first granite 
gorge, their way was threatened with the worst falls they 
had met thus far. The good luck which had attended them 
from the start, however, still prevailed, and they managed 
to shoot their way safely down over the almost continuous 
cataracts for five long days. Christmas found them only 
fifteen miles above Bright Angel. In describing the manner 
of their celebration, Russell remarked casually that they 
certainly " hung their stockings " — to dry. From beginning 
to end of their journey, the adventurers were obliged to 
depend entirely for fuel on such driftwood as they could 
find lodged in eddies and on the rocky shores. More than 
one night they spent in clothes soaked through with the 
icy water of the Colorado, with no fire to warm them. Their 
Christmas camp, however, was on a narrow strip of sand, 
with a greater supply of driftwood at hand than they had 
found at any point along the river. 

Dangerous Rapids. Beginning immediately below this 
camping place, and continuing for ten miles, the river 
dashes madly through that stretch of foaming water called 
by Stanton the " Sockdologer." To make matters worse, 
Russell found it impossible to follow his usual custom of 
" picking a trail " through the rapids. Ordinarily the 
elder man climbed along the precipitous sides of the Canyon 



254 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

beside each cataract, leaving Monett above the rough 
water in charge of the two boats. From his vantage point, 
Russell could pick out the most dangerous places, and 
chart a course through the rapids accordingly. But through- 
out these ten miles of granite, the walls are sheer and 
smooth for the first fifteen hundred feet of their rise. 
Russell could find no foothold, and the men for the 
first time faced the necessity of " shooting " unknown 
waters. 

Russell's Method of Shooting Rapids. As always, Russell 
led the way in his boat, swinging it into the boiling current 
stern first — his own method of taking each cataract — 
making the frail craft respond to his will, when possible, 
by a forward pull on one or the other of his oars. For 
half an hour the men were hurled down the seemingly never- 
ending length of tossing waters. After the first minute, 
the cockpit in which each man sat was filled to the gun- 
wales with icy water, in which the oarsmen worked, cov- 
ered to the armpits. Hundreds of times great waves 
totally submerged them, the little boats each time staggering 
out from under the weight of water, only to plunge into 
more. 

Russell Gets Safely Through. With less than a quarter 
of a mile still to be covered, before the less turbulent water 
below was reached, and just as Russell was sweeping 
around the last great curve beyond which he could see the 
placid water, he heard his companion in the rear cry out 
in alarm. Before he could turn to see the cause of the cry, 
he was driven round the curve. Mooring his boat to the 
bank as quickly as possible, Russell half climbed, half 
waded along the shore of the river, and made his way back 
up the side of the rapids. 

Monett in Danger. Monett, his boat wedged tight be- 
tween two jagged rocks, a foot below the surface of the 
sweeping water, was hanging desperately to the gunwale 
of the little craft, his body straightened out horizontal 
by the rush of the water about him. The boat was com- 



THE STORY OF A BOAT 255 

pletely wrecked. But Russell, when he threw a rope 
to his companion, was astounded to see the boy work his 
way slowly nearer the boat, and begin to tie its contents 
securely with the line intended for his own salvation. 

Rescued with Difficulty. Against the roar of the rapids, 
it was useless for Russell to call to his companion to let 
the provisions-go and save himself. Four times the lad let 
Russell drag sides of bacon and sacks of beans through the 
thirty feet of roaring water between him and the shore, before 
he finally caught the rope and was dragged to safety. 
He had been in the water for more than twenty minutes, 
and was nearly exhausted when Russell lifted him to his 
feet. 

Loss of Boat. The loss of the boat seemed at first to 
mark the end of their attempt to equal the record of their 
predecessors. But Monett insisted that they try his plan 
of straddling the stern of the remaining boat. " If we 
strike too rough water, I can always swing overboard," he 
urged. " And we've needed a drag that wouldn't get 
fouled on the rocks all along." 

Reach Bright Angel. It was noon, January 6, when the 
trail party from the hotel on the Canyon's rim at Bright 
Angel, forty men and women, eating their luncheon at 
the river shore, saw two men swing out of the rapids two 
hundred yards up the river, and row leisurely toward them. 
In the thirty years that tourists have visited the bottom 
of the Canyon at this point, it is safe to assert that not one 
ever saw a sight like this. 

Rest for Three Days. Two horses were placed at the 
disposal of the miners. Their clothes were torn and soak- 
ing wet, their faces covered with an undisturbed growth 
of beard of one hundred and ten days' accumulation. While 
they had planned to climb out of the Canyon at this point 
to mail and receive letters, they had no intention of re- 
maining. With all their provisions now confined to the 
limited quarters of one boat, and with other incentives 
to push on with all speed possible, it was with diflSculty 



250 THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

that they were persuaded to remain at the hotel three 
days. 

A Fresh Start. January 9 the entire community, guests 
and employees of the hotel, accompanied the two men to 
the river edge, and bade them an enthusiastic farewell. 
With a responding shout, the miners pushed off into mid- 
stream and headed down river. For the first time in their 
four months' fight against the river, the adventurers faced 
water too wicked-looking for them to dare. It was out of 
the question for both men to try to ride in the little row- 
boat, and the shores on each side afforded no foothold, after 
half the length of the rapids was passed. Russell would 
not leave Monett behind to shoot the rapids alone in the 
boat. 

Attempt to Lower Boat through Rapids. Accordingly 
they took out all the provisions and camera (the latter 
obtained at El Tovar), and tried to lower the boat through 
the rapids by means of a long rope, to which they clung 
from their station on the shore. The force of the current 
was so great, however, that to save themselves from being 
dragged into the water they were forced to let go the rope. 
The little boat shot down the whirling cataract, and the 
men saw it pounded against two sharp rocks below. 

Boat Is Lost. To lose their boat at this point meant 
death. They could not climb out of the Canyon. Their 
only chance was to follow and overtake the boat, now 
floating slowly down the still water below the rapids, the 
forward air-tight compartment filled with water and only 
the stern showing. Russell made the plunge first, followed 
quickly by Monett. How they managed to live through 
these rapids is a mystery. But they struck the still water 
together, neither having suffered a scratch. The shores 
continued to be so steep they could not climb out of the 
water, and they kept on in their chase of the boat. When 
they were within one hundred yards of it, they saw it 
swept over the top of Boucher Rapids, and at the same time 
discovered a landing place on the south shore. They gave up 



THE STORY OF A BOAT 257 

the boat as lost, and spent the night where they were, with 
no matches with which to light a fire. 

Boat is Recovered and Men Resume Journey. Thursday 
morning, as Boucher came down his trail to go to work, 
he found the two men, who had climbed down beside 
the rapids at daybreak, engaged in hauling the badly 
battered boat out of the water. They had found it being 
swept round and round in a big eddy at the foot of the 
cataract. Two holes in the boat's bottom amidships bore 
witness to its trip over the rocks. The men persuaded 
Boucher to go to the blacksmith shop at El Tovar, and 
secure the necessary material for repairs. He did so, 
and after everything was again on good order, the intrepid 
fellows pushed off again, and continued their wild and 
exciting ride down to tidewater. Past Bass's Trail and 
under his cable crossing, past the mouth of Havasu Creek, 
and Diamond Creek, where over forty years before, Wheel- 
er's party had camped, down the gorge up which Wheeler 
had climbed with incredible labor, they finally reached the 
Grand Wash, and entered the placid water below Black 
and Diamond Canyons, soon to find themselves at the 
town of Needles, where they were welcomed by the cheers 
of practically the whole community. A banquet was 
tendered them, and the one remaining boat of the expedi- 
tion secured as a memorial of their adventurous trip. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE GRAND CANYON A FOREST RESERVE, GAME PRESERVE 
AND NATIONAL MONUMENT 

Made Forest Reserve in 1893. For several years prior 
to 1893, the author and some of his Grand Canyon friends 
sought to have this scenic masterpiece preserved from dese- 
cration as far as possible. In that year President Harri- 
son issued a proclamation declaring it a Forest Reserve, and 
outlining the boundaries to be included. 

Homesteads. It is interesting to note that, up to the time 
of the issuance of this proclamation, any citizen of the 
United States might have located a homestead on one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in the Grand Canyon 
region. The only two old-timers who had taken advantage 
of this provision of the law were John Hance and P. D. 
Berry. The former located at or near the head of the trail 
that bears his name, and Berry at the head of the Grand 
View Trail. Both men built log houses, Hance's being 
a somewhat rude structure, while Berry's was a substantial 
building. The Hance cabin was already built when I first 
visited him in 1889, and Berry built his in the years 1896- 
1898. 

Game Preserve in 1906. On November 28, 1906, Presi- 
dent Roosevelt issued a proclamation setting aside that 
part of the reserve north and west of the Colorado River as 
a Game Preserve. To further safeguard it and protect the 
cliff dwellings of the ancient inhabitants from the vandalism 
of irresponsible excavators, who ruthlessly knocked down 
the walls of buildings of permanent interest, President 



FOREST, PRESERVE, AND MONUMENT 259 

Roosevelt, on January ii, 1908, declared it a National 
Monument, and on June 23 of the same year, the Game 
Preserve was enlarged to include the v^hole of the Forest 
Reserve. 

Forest Reserve Divided in 1908. Still another proclama- 
tion was issued by President Roosevelt on July 2, 1908, which 
divided the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve into two parts, 
the section north of the Grand Canyon to be known as the 
Kaibab National Forest, and that on the south as the 
Coconino National Forest. 

All these proclamations may be had by addressing the 
Chief Forester, Department of the Interior, Washington, 
D. C. 



AN INDEX OF THE POINTS OF INTEREST 

IN AND NEAR THE GRAND 

CANYON OF ARIZONA 



Acoma, 189. 
Alar^on Terrace, 82. 
Algonkian Deposits, 27, 29, 30, 

50- 
Algonkian Strata, 54. 

Angel Alcove, 60. 
Angel Gate, 37, 69. 
Angel Plateau (See Bright An- 
gel Plateau). 
Anita Junction, Ari., 14, 15. 
Apex, Ari. 52. 
Asbestos Mines, 54. 
Ash Fork, Ari*., v, 11, 104. 
Ayer Peak, 69. 

Bass, Ari., 15,77, III. 
Bass's Cable Crossing, 84. 
Bass's Camp, v, 15, 76, 78, 90, 

93, 95, 108, 114, 181. 
Bass's Tomb (See Holy Grail 

Temple). 
Bass's Trail, 57, 76, 79. 
" Battleship," The, 25, 29, 59. 
Beale Point, 83. 
Beaver Falls, 175, 176. 
Bed Rock Camp, 84, 95. 
Berry Trail, 48, 52. 
Black Falls, 36. 
Blanket Weavers, 131-139. 
Blue Canyon, 160. 
Blue Ridge Mountains, 13. 
Blue Water Indians, 57. 
BlufF City, 180. 



Boucher Creek, 47. 

Boucher Rapids, 256. 

Boucher Trail, 45, 47, 48, 74, 76. 

Brahma Temple, 30, 36, 61. 

Bridal Veil Falls, 56, 175. 

Bright Angel, v, 255. 

Bright Angel Camp, 15, 17, 21, 

22, 59> 73- 
Bright Angel Creek, 26, 27, 29, 

;^o, 61, 109, 112. 
Bright Angel Gorge, 26, 27, 30, 

36, 39, 40. 
Bright Angel Fault line, 108. 
Bright Angel Hotel, 24. 
Bright Angel Plateau, ^3, 35, ^7, 

38, 62. _ 

Bright Angel Trail, 11, 44, 50, ^ y 
«'59, 76, 108, ii5.^' 
Bright Angel Wash, 77, in. 
Brown's Hole, 217. 
Buddha Cloister, 30. 
Buddha Temple, 30, 40, 61. 
Bunker Hill Monument, 47. 

Cambrian Deposits, 9, 29. 
Canyon Copper Co. Mines, 52, 

67. 
Canyon Diablo, 36. 
Cape Horn, 59. 
Cape Solitude, 70, 71. 
Carboniferous Deposits, 9. 
Cataract Canyon (See Havasu 

Canyon). 



262 



INDEX 



Cataract Creek {See Havasu 

Creek). 
Cedar Mountain, 71. 
Chemehuevi Point, 82. 
Cheops Pyramid, 29, 31, 40, 61. 
Chuar Creek, 58. 
Chuar Valley, 27. 
Cibola {See Zuni). 
" Cisterns," The, 78. 
Cliff Dwellings, 50, 66, 182-184. 
Coconino Forest, 15, 38, 42, 65, 

70, 74, 77, 249- 
Coconino Wash, 15, 77, in. 
Colorado Desert, The, 8, 105. 
Colorado River, 2, 14, 37, 39, 63, 

66, 70, 104, 105, 109, 180, 199, 

232-239- 
Columbus Point, 47. 
Comanche Point, 70. 
Confucius Temple, 40. 
Continental Divide, The, 107. 
Conquistadore Aisle, 83. 
Corazones, 200. 
Cottonwood Creek, 52. 
Crater Mountain, 71. 
Crescent Creek, 223. 
Cretaceous Deposits, 9. 

Dana Butte, 39. 

Darwin Plateau, 81. 

Desert View, 146. 

De Vaca Terrace, 82. 

Deva Temple, 30, 36, 62. 

Devil's Corkscrew Trail, 63. 

Diamond Creek, 210, 219, 222. 

Dick Pillar, 82. 

" Dirty Devil River," 26. 

Dripping Spring, 45. 

Dripping Spring Amphitheatre, 

46. 
Dutton Point, 40, 79, 90. 



Echo Cliffs, 107. 

El Garces Hotel, 202. 

El Rio del Tizon, 200. 

El Tovar, 26, 28, 29, 107, III, 

114,249. 
El Tovar Amphitheatre, 25, 38, 

39- 
El Tovar Hotel, v, 15, 16-24, 

7^, 74, 77- 
El Tovar Point, 25, 38. 

El Tovar Trail, 74, 

Eocene Lake, 9, 14, 38, 104, 

105, III. 

Flagstaff, Ari., v, il, 72. 
Fray Marcos Hotel, 202. 
Fremont River, 26, 223. 

Gallup, N. M., 107. 
Garces Terrace, 82. 
Garden Creek, 38. 
Garnet Canyon, 82. 
Grand Canyon, Ari., 15. 
Grand Canyon, Formation of, 

96-110. 
Grand Canyon, Rim of the, v, 

14. 
Grandeur Point {See El Tovar 

Point). 
Grand Scenic Divide, 81, 83. 
Grand View, v, 34, 42, 44, 55, 

114. 
Grand View Cave, 52, 68. 
Grand View Hotel, 66, 67, 70. 
Grand View Point, 35, 52, 66, 

67, 70, 145 
Grand View Trail, 51, 67. 
Grand View Trail, The Old, 67. 
Grand Wash, 106. 
Granite Gorge, 62, 64, 67, 68, 

70, 107. 



INDEX 



263 



Great Bend, The, 40. 
Greenland Spring, 27, 57. 
Guinevere Castle, 81. 

Hance's, v, 55. 

Hance's Camp (old), 145. 

Hance's Canyon, 69. 

Hance Creek, 53, 70. 

Hance's Trail, 69. 

Hance's Trail, The 01(5, 53, 

145- 
Hano, 147. 

Havasu Canyon, 12, 14, 55, 154, 

156, 171-175. 182, 184, 211, 

251- 
Havasu Creek, li, 12, 14, 56, 

112, 175, 211. 
Havasupai Canyon, 153, 219. 
Havasupai Falls, 175. 
Havasupai Gardens, 174. 
Havasupai Indians, 13, 14, ^^. 
Havasupai Point, 40, 47. 
Havasupai Village, 55, 112. 
Hermit Basin, 46, 47, 74, 76. 
Hermit Creek, 46, 74. 
Hermit Point, 75. 
Holy Grail Temple, 80. 
Hopi Ethnologic Collection, 

121. 
Hopi House, 1 18-126. 
Hopi Indians, 36. , 
Hopi Point, 25, 34, 35, 39, 42, 

44, 74, 108, 109. 
Hopi Trail, 57. 
Hopi Trail (The Old), 145, 153, 

156,157, 211. 
Hopi Villages, 186. 
Horseshoe Mesa, 52, 67, 68. 
Horus Temple, 31, 32, 40. 
Hotouta Amphitheatre, The, 3, 

78. 



Hue-tha-wa-li (See White Rock 

Mountain). 
Huxley Terrace, 81, 82. 

Indian Garden, 3^, 35, 37, 60- 

62, 76, 115, 180. 
Indians at El Tovar, 127-130. 
Inner Gorge, 29, 35, 40, 54, 81. 
Isis Temple, 31, 40, 61. 
Ives Point, 83. 

Jacob's Ladder, 60. 
Jurassic Deposits, 9. 

Kaibab Forest, 57. 

Kaibab Plateau, 26, 28, 32, 61, 

79, 85, 90, 109, 1 10. 
Kaibab Plateau Palisades, 2. 
Kanab Canyon, 222. 
Kanab Unats, 91. 
Kendrick Mountains, The, 12. 
King Arthur Castle, 80. 
Kohonino (See Coconino). 
Komo Point, 62. 

Labyrinth Canyon, 180. 

Laguna, 185, 235. 

La Purisima Concepcion, 213. 

Lee's Ferry, 115, 223, 252. 

Lipan Point, 36, 55. 

Little Colorado River, 36, 47, 58, 

66, 71, no, 146, 157, 158. 
Little Colorado River, Canyon 

of, 71, 109, 198, 211. 
Lodore Canyon, 217. 
Long Creek (See Boucher 

Creek). 
Long Jim Canyon, 66. 

Maiden's Breast, 32. 
Mallery Grotto, The, 23, 45. 



264 



INDEX 



Manu Temple, 30, 40, 61. 
Marble Canyon, 27, 66, 70, 107, 

109, 146, 198, 211, 224, 

252. 
Marcos Terrace, 82. 
Maricopa Point, 25, 26, 28, 32, 

39>4i- 
Marsh Butte, 40. 
Mashongnovi, 147. 
Mencius Temple, 40. 
Mineral Canyon, 53, 68, 69. 
Moenkopi, 71, 146, 153, 160. 
Mogallon Escarpment, 107. 
Mohave, 197. 
Mohave Desert, The, 8. 
Mohave Point, 74. 
Moki Trail, 156, 172. 
Monument Creek, 74. 
Mooney Falls, 56, 175, 176. 
Moran Point, 55, 66, 70, 145. 
Mount Emma, 78, 108. 
Mount Floyd, 13, 38, 78, 108. 
Mount Kendricks, 78, 108. 
Mount Logan, 108. 
Mount Sitgreaves, 78, 108. 
Mount Trumbull, 78, 108. 
Mount Washington, 31. 
Mount Williams, 108. 
Muav Canyon, 8g. 
Mystic Spring, 82. 
Mystic Spring Trail, 82. 

Naji Point, 58, 
Navaho Falls, 175. 
Navaho Indians, 13, 36. 
Navaho Point, 66, 70, 146. 
Needles, Cal., 202. 
Newberry Point, 83. 
Newberry Terrace (See Wo- 

tan's Throne). 
Niji Point, 27. 



Obi Point, 62. 

Old Hance Canyon, 68. 

O'Leary Peak, 72. 

O'Neill Butte, 36, 62. 

O'Neill Point (See Hopi Point). 

Oraibi, 118, 147, 211, 212. 

Osiris Temple, 29, 31, 32, 40. 

Ottoman Amphitheatre, 62. 

Pack-a-tha-true-ye-ba Spring, 

56, 155- 
Pack-a-tha-true-ye-ba Trail, 154. 
Painted Desert, The, 36, 70, 71, 

145, 146, 157. 
Papago Point, 55. 
Permian Deposits, 9, 13. 
Petrified Forest, The, I. 
Pima Point, 47, 74. 
Pinal Point, 36, 55, 66. 
Pipe Creek, 38, 60, 63. 
Pipe Creek Canyon, 50. 
Point Sublime, 27, 32, 40, 47, 

57. 79. 85, 92. 
Pompey's Pillar, 66. 

Powell Plateau, 27, 40, 57, 79, 
82, 85, 90. 

Ra Pyramid, 32. 

Red Butte, 13, 14, 103. 

Red Canyon, 68-70. 

Red Canyon Trail, 53, 68, 69, 

109, 145, 181. 
Red Horse Wash, 14. 
Red Lake, Ari., 12. 
" Ribbon Falls," 27. 
Rowe's Well, 15, 45. 

" Saddle," The, 90. 
Salton Basin, 105. 
San Francisco Mountains, The, 
12, 72, 78, 106, 108, 157, 219. 



INDEX 



265 



San Juan River, i8o. 

San Pedro y San Pablo de 

Bicuner, 213. 
Shinumo Camp, 87. 
Shinumo Creek, 9, 94, 112, 115, 

182. 
Shinumo Garden, 87. 
Shinumo Trail, 57. 
Shipaulovi, 147. 
Shiva Temple, 30, 31, 32, 37, 

40, 47, 61. 
Shungopavi, 147. 
Sichomovi, 147. 
Sitgreave Mountains, The, 12. 
Snake Dance, 145-152. 
Soap Creek Rapids, 223, 224. 
Spencer Terrace, 81, 82. 
Spring Valley Wash, 13. 
Stanton Rapid, 86. 
Steamboat Mountain, 5, 83. 
Sunset Crater, 72. 
Suya Valley, 200. 
Swamp Point, 91, 93. 

Tanner Crossing, 36, 146. 
Tanner-French Trail, 36, 55, 58. 
Taos, 185. 

Thompson Point, 83. 
Thor's Hammer, 66. 
" Tilts," The, 80. 
Tonto Deposits, 50. 
tTonto Sandstones, 29, 30. 
Tonto Trail, 51, 52. 
Topocobya Canyon, 174. 
Topocobya Spring, 55, 173. 
Topocobya Trail, 55, 156, 173. 
Tovar Terrace, 82. 
Tower of Set, 40, 53, 69. 
Triassic Deposits, 9. 



Tuba City, 71, 160. 
Tucson, Ari., 14. 
Tusayan, 197. 
Tyndall Dome, 82. 

Uinkaret Mountains, Utah, 41, 

78, 108. 
Uinkaret Plateau, 85. 
Uinta River, 179. 

Valle, Ari., 13. 
Vermilion Cliffs, 106. 
Vishnu Temple, y], 47, 69, 109. 
Volcanic Mountains, The, 12. 

Walhalla Plateau, 27, 57, 62. 

Wallapai Trail, 57, 156, 172. 

Walpi, 147. 

Wheeler Point, 82. 

White Rock Mountain, 81, 198. 

Williams, Ari.,v, 11, 12, 104,201. 

Williams Mountain, 12, 13. 

Willow Creek, 63. 

Winslow, 36. 

Wotan's Throne, T,"], 47. 

Yaki Point, 36, 62. 

Yakis Indians, 36. 

Yaquis {See Yakis). 

Yavapai Point, 34-36, 38, 41, 

44, 47, 109. 
Yuma, 197. 
Yuma Point, 47, 75. 

Zoroaster Temple, 30, 36, 62. 
Zuni, 189, 194. 
Zuni Mountains, The, 107. 
Zuni Point, 55, 66, 70. 
Zuni Villages, 186. 



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